Backstabber Stabbed in the Back
by Sanguimancy
Summary: We all know what happens to Kronya in the game, but here I propose a different outcome to her story! Rather than die by Solon's hands, she is rescued by Byleth. While being held captive, she's given an offer from her savior - join his class in the Blue Lions. Now watch as she will try to atone for what she had done, and maybe get back her heart along the way.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey there everyone! So, one thing that I haven't seen yet is a fanfic elaborating on everyone's favorite (or most hated) clown stripper. I think Kronya's death was supposed to make us feel a little bit sad for her, so I figured I could write her out a bit and see where this goes. Anyways, enjoy!**

**EDIT: I re-read this and changed the dialogue in the second half. Personally, I think it sounds a lot better this time.**

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**A Backstabber Stabbed in the Back**

Byleth thought this side of himself was gone for good. The Ashen Demon – the one who strikes down enemies without a trace of emotion – was now creeping back into his psyche. He knew that he should have been furious as he chased her down through the woods, but only a blank stare was displayed on his young face. Even before Sothis admitted she may have stunted his emotions, he was taught that they were a distraction on the battlefield. Once she awoke within his mind, he discovered more of his feelings. Once he became a professor, he became an entirely new person. Leading the Blue Lions made him truly happy, as he was able to help these people grow when he wasn't able to. Now, however, all he could think of was the time robbed from him. He had finally discovered his emotions and finally had time to spend with his father. But only a month later, it was all taken from him. He would make her pay.

For Kronya, and Agarthans in general, fear was an emotion that was seldom experienced. When Thales blocked the bone whip, her only real reaction was surprise. However, as her black heart beat against her chest, she finally knew what fear was. This quickened her pace, as all she knew was that she needed to get away from the demon who tore through her whole army. _Need to get away, need to get away! Solon said he would be nearby… he better because I couldn't even make a scratch on this guy- _Her thoughts were cut-off as her foot collided with a tree root that made her stumble. Although she turned her tumble into a roll, it cost her all the time and distance she made between her and Byleth.

Finally looking at him, she screamed, "But how, how could I really lose… to a lowly creature like you?!" Byleth raised his sword, preparing for what the Agarthan would do next.

A voice then materialized behind her. "Well…" it was Solon, with a Cheshire grin on his face. Byleth noticed that the evil sneer was more directed at her than himself, which put him even more on guard.

"Solon, don't just stand there and stare. I need your help!" she barked at him, not noticing the way he was approaching her.

"Yes, you most certainly do…" he replied ominously as he got closer and closer. When she finally turned around, Solon already had plunged his hand deep into her chest – fingers clasped around her black heart.

He began his speech, "Have no fear Kronya, your sacrifice will help rid this world of the filthy vermin that have long infested it." He tugged harder, causing shadowy flames to erupt in the arena they were all in. These flames became physical as they lashed out at Byleth.

"Solon, stop this!" she screamed in pain as he continued to pull on her heart. However, he only continued to grin.

"The time has finally come to unleash the forbidden spell of Zahras upon our enemies!" he triumphantly declared as he finally pulled her heart completely out and crushed it in his hand. As the power surged through him, he unceremoniously dropped her to the stone floor.

Kronya was destroyed, both physically and mentally, by the abrupt betrayal and fatal injury. Utterly defeated, she had only one option left. Looking at the man who she was fighting to the death only a moment ago, she begged, "Please, help me…"

Although his face didn't reveal anything, Byleth enjoyed seeing her suffer. She was finally experiencing a drop of the pain and anguish that he had felt for over a month. He was slightly jealous of Solon though, wishing that he dealt the killing blow rather than the sneaky mage. However, hearing her pained screams and pleading for him to stop made his grip loosen. Startled by rustling behind him, he turned around to see his students having caught up to him; and now anxiously staring at him trapped in the magical prison. He then looked back to the clown-like assassin as he heard her final plea – save her. The earnestness in her voice brought his mind back to Remire Village. He remembered the villagers begging him to stop the violence or, more grimly, make the deaths painless. Byleth grimaced as he could already feel himself willing the Sword of the Creator to turn into a whip. For a second he thought about sending the whip right through her head, but he knew he couldn't bring himself to do that. It was too cruel; and he would rather have the last thing his students see is him saving a life, rather than ending one.

The blade dug into Kronya's skin, and she couldn't help but let out a scream as Byleth yanked her towards him. He knew he didn't have much time until this mysterious spell finally did whatever Solon intended it to do. He then yelled over his shoulder, "Flayn! Mercedes! Rescue and heal her, now!" Time was of the essence, as he could already feel his body disappearing. But before it happened he felt the sword go slack, meaning his plan worked. With that, he smiled, knowing that the last thing he did was the right thing.

The two girls, as well as the rest of the class, were shocked by what the professor asked them to do. Rather than save him, they were told to rescue the person he was just fighting. Nevertheless, they did as they were instructed to do. Despite the heavy bleeding, Kronya was surprisingly surviving without a heart. Mercedes was unfamiliar with the bluish-black blood that spilled from the girl's chest, but the wound was still closing from her _heal_. The students moved their heads from the injured girl to the sound of wood splintering. The spear that Dimitri held was cracking from how hard he was gripping it. They all knew he was close to snapping again; and that seeking revenge on any of these mysterious people was going to consume his mind. Luckily, Felix knew what to say.

He went over, put a hand on his old friend's shoulder, and said, "I know you want revenge boar prince, but you should know that we're all behind you." Looking around, Dimitri saw all his friends and classmates giving him a steely look of determination. Nodding, he said a few words. "Sylvain, stay with Flayn and Mercedes. Everyone else, on me," and then he let out a furious roar as he charged the temple Solon retreated to.

_From here, Byleth is able to escape the infinite darkness spell after he fuses with Sothis. Reunited with his students, they make quick work of the reinforcements Solon brings, and then defeat Solon himself. Exhausted from everything that has happened, Byleth collapses on the field._

**-o-O-o-o-O-o-o-O-o-**

Byleth liked to rise with the sun. As Jeralt taught him, dawn and dusk were when guard changes happened, meaning gaps in defense were more likely. Today, however, he found himself getting out of bed at the same time everyone else was eating lunch. With a sigh, he waited for his scolding from Sothis. However, this never came; and he felt a pang in his chest. Losing his father and the quirky girl in his head so close together was almost too much to bear. He admitted to his students that Sothis gave him his new powers, but they never met her personally. Unlike with his father, he would have to grieve alone. While the sting of sadness did hit him, he also remembered that he saved a life too. In fact, he had no idea what happened to Kronya after she was teleported out of the arena. Getting his professor's garb on, he left his room.

Outside was Dimitri, who audibly sighed with relief as he saw his professor finally emerge. "Thank the goddess you're awake! Everyone has been worried sick over you! Except for Sylvain, he's taken your absence as time to flirt around…"

Byleth let out a chuckle, not surprised that was happening. In all honestly it was reassuring that people were still going on with their lives, rather than worry over him again. He then looked to the blond prince and said, "Tell everyone I'm fine, and that they can have the day to themselves. What I need is to talk to Kronya."

Dimitri uncomfortably looked to the side. He knew this request was bound to happen, he just didn't want his teacher to be dragged down to the same place he had been in for years. "She… she is in a quarantined area in the treasury. I guess it's hard to get in or get out…" he replied with a forced chuckle.

Byleth could see how hard his student was trying to keep him from getting mad. Reaching out, he put his hand on his shoulder and answered the young man's fears with a warm smile, the ones that always distracted Dimitri from the darkness within himself. "Thank you Dimitri. Now you get some sleep too, I know you stayed up worrying about me," Byleth lightly instructed. Dimitri let out a genuine laugh as he walked towards his own dorms.

Before he could move much further, Dimitri came running back to him. "By the way professor, Edelgard and Hubert have been on edge ever since that girl was put into holding. I'm sure they're just in shock over how someone they knew turned out to be an enemy. Either way, please talk to them when you get the chance." With that, the princeling turned around and headed back to his dorms, again.

Byleth's smile slipped from his face has walked towards the treasury. The only time he was interested in this building was when he investigated the archbishop's assassination plan. However, he didn't have to look hard as he saw guards all over the place. As he approached, the men posted there all snapped to attention. He casually waved them down and entered the building. It was impressive, no doubt, with the high ceilings and well-sculpted pillars. The architecture showed that this was not supposed to be a jail. However, as he descended the stairs, he saw the walls thickening and becoming more reinforced with stronger materials. He was finally approaching the safe as he saw the most trained knights outside of a solid silver door.

One lifted their helmet up and came up to the professor, "I'm so glad to see you up and at 'em so soon. Jeralt truly made you as tough as the come." Byleth looked to see the ever-present grin of Alois. While normally finding him to be a tad overbearing, it was refreshing to see him after so much turmoil.

"I'm glad Lady Rhea put the toughest knight here to guard the prisoner," he responded back with a smile. The older knight was stunned to hear such high praise, but simply let out another hearty guffaw.

Once he was done, Alois stiffened up and switched to his official knight persona. "You can charm me all you want professor but I know why you're really here," he said as he turned around to open the door. It revealed a small room that had Kronya behind a wall of glass, lined with seals. She had only a bed awkwardly crammed into the space, obviously not meant to have someone kept inside. Hearing the noise, she looked up to see her supposed savior.

Byleth nodded to Alois, and then the door shut behind him. It was now just him and her, finally together at last. He sat down in the chair, the only thing on his side of the room. She alternated between looking at him, and looking at literally anything else. After a long, uncomfortable silence, she finally looked at him and said, "I'm so sorry for everything I've done…"

He felt ambivalent hearing her say that. On one hand, it's natural for someone like her to apologize after having done so much wrong. On the other hand, she could be faking it and trying to lower his guard. However, he was surprised by how genuine it sounded. He leaned forward, showing her that he was paying attention.

Noticing this, she continued, "I should have never asked you to save me. If I had just died then you'd be able to come back here, victorious, after killing two evil people. Instead, now you have me to deal with, even though I think I know what's gonna happen…" She spoke solemnly, as if she had nothing left.

To Byleth, she was a completely different person. Even as Monica she had the same carefree tone when talking to him. But now, she reminded him of whenever he and Jeralt had captured someone who was to be executed. They were all downcast looks and wanting to confess their sins before it was too late. He figured he might as well get any information he can, and see how this all would play out.

He leveled his look at her, then said, "If you died then I wouldn't be able to learn anything. But tell me, what do you think is going to happen?

A cold and dry laugh left her as she looked right back at him. "Either you kill me or the knights kill me or the Agarthans kill me or I kill myself," she replied while counting on her fingers the number of ways she would die.

Byleth could obviously see a broken warrior, yet something kept her alive. If she wanted to spill the secrets of her traitorous allies then she would be talking already. If she really considered suicide then she could have broken the bed and used a piece of that to finish her off. Something was keeping her alive. Suddenly, it clicked in his mind. _She wanted to talk to me_.

A sad smile appeared as she then looked at the ground, "I think I figured something out though, something _big_," she said with a humorless chuckle. Byleth motioned for her to continue, as he was now curious as to what she had to say.

"Remember at the chapel, when Thales saved me? He said he only rescued me because I had a bigger part to play. At first I thought he meant more fighting in the upcoming battles, but now I realize things aren't fitting together." She paused and looked at him. He was definitely curious now, even though mentioning the day his father was killed, by her, made his brow furrow. Kronya didn't reveal how glad she was to have someone listen to her – although her smile getting gradually brighter gave it away. After collecting her thoughts, she continued, "The spell that Solon used, the cursed art of Zaras or whatever, he needed _me _specifically for it to work, but if all he needed was an Agarthan heart to use it, then why kill off someone big like myself? Why not use one of the grunts?"

Byleth raised an eyebrow after hearing the term Agarthan again, but he figured this wasn't the time to be asking questions. Continuing on, she said, "The spell needs a dark heart, one that has been drenched in evil. I was going to be sacrificed to kill you. That's why Thales was adamant I worked with Solon on the mission. However, once it was ripped from my chest, I felt different. It was like a veil was lifted. I wanted to hate Solon and Thales and you, but I think removing my heart removed those feelings, for now at least…"

Everything she said was making sense to him, except for her claim that her heart somehow kept her evil stored. _Then again, it would explain her personality shift_. Right now the only question he had on his mind was what to do with her. Not knowing for himself, he decided to ask her.

He sat in silence for a while, then looked her in the eye. "Tell me, after you've told us everything you know, what do want to happen next?"

She blinked a few times, not understanding what he meant by this. "What do you mean? I'm a prisoner of war – I'll spill my secrets and then I'll die," she somewhat nervously replied.

Byleth continued the interrogation, "Is that really what you want? You really want your story to end with an execution by someone you begged to save you?"

She looked away, not liking where this questioning was going. "What do you want me to say? There are no other possibilities for someone like me…"

"That's bullshit Kronya. If you wanted to die then you wouldn't have pleaded for your life, you wouldn't have let yourself be captured, and you especially wouldn't be telling us anything," he shot back.

Before she could respond, Byleth fired off another question, "Do you still feel the need to kill? To see your enemies bleed and their corpses splayed in front of you?" He was intentionally using this language to see her response. Sure enough, she unconsciously licked her lips hearing about death on the battlefield. Horrified by this realization, she hung her head in shame.

"I-I do… but I shouldn't. I shouldn't want those things!" she shouted back at him, starting to feel the pressure of all these accusations. Her eyes were getting wider and more hysterical as she looked directly into his own.

He matched her gaze before finally speaking up, "Here's what I see right now. You're a fighter who knows they have done something wrong. You want to fight, and you don't want to die. You may not know why, but I do." He looked away for a second and thought back to Dimitri before responding, "If you die now then you'll never be able to atone for the blood on your hands."

Kronya fell back in her bed as she laid against the wall. Everything Byleth just said was true. He somehow knew her better than she knew herself. _No wonder why he's a professor_. She shook anymore absent thoughts from her head and looked back at him. She saw a slight upturn of his mouth as smirk suddenly appeared, then disappeared just as quickly.

She wanted to question that, but then he spoke up again, "I can give you that chance. I can help you stay off the dark path you were on." This floored her as she looked away instantly. It was too much to bear. First he saves her life, then he tells her how she feels about herself, and now he's offering a path to redemption. It was almost too good to be true; and it was the first time someone showed her genuine kindness. This thought made her heart lurch, as she realized how much of her life was now dependent on this one person.

For the longest time, Kronya kept staring at the ground. When she finally looked up, Byleth saw how wide and fearful her ruby eyes were. She was walking the razor's edge between life and death right now, and they both knew it. "R-Really? You'd let me fight for you?" her voice was coarse and rough, threatening to become hysterical.

He stood up and walked towards her, putting his palm flat against the glass. "I mean it."

With those three words she sprung up and slammed her hand against the glass wall as well, trying to feel some small amount of connection to the man that just saved her life again. She didn't remember when she started crying but the tears were freely falling from her face. It was an anguished cry of her pain finally leaving her spirit and how she now had a second chance.

Byleth stayed with her the entire time, allowing all her emotions to come out and for her to recover. When she stopped, he told her that he would be leaving to confirm this with the archbishop. She stuttered as she begged him to come back soon. With that, he left the holding cell and made his way towards the archbishop's quarters. However, he made a slight detour as he started walking towards Jeralt's grave.

When he finally got there, he talked to the headstone, "Hello father, I know it hasn't been too long since I've been here, but a lot has happened." He swallowed the lump in his throat before going on. "I didn't know that I would get the power of the goddess, and I'm sure you would love seeing my new hair color…" A dry laugh left his mouth. He then steeled himself for what he had to say next. "I know I couldn't save you, and someday I might learn to live with that… but I was able to save someone else, and I can only hope and pray that you approve of what I did. I love you dad…"

He wiped away the forming tears and started walking to Rhea again. As he felt the breeze on his face, the warm sun on his skin, and his darling students all coming to see him, he knew that he made the right choice.

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**And there we have it ladies and gentlemen, my positive Kronya fanfiction! Again, she'll need plenty of time to rehabilitate but I think it's possible. I'm really proud of myself for explaining why Solon betrayed her and why he needed her heart specifically, as well as why she begged Byleth to save her. Make sure to leave a review and tell me what you thought of this! Have a good day!**


	2. Chapter 2

**So wow, I was not expecting this story to blow up the way it did! Everyone left some great reviews and it really inspired me to keep it up. Seriously, this story is already outperforming one of mine that is 3x bigger! **

**Just a note: I revised the previous chapter and cleaned up some of the dialogue, so I'd recommend looking it back over. Other than that, here's the new chapter!**

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**Chapter Two: Walking the Tightrope**

The stairs leading up to the Archbishop's chambers never felt more intimidating. Word of his actions in the Sealed Forest had spread far, meaning that both parties were expecting this confrontation. As he made his way down the hallway, the recognizable faces of Manuela, Hanneman, and Cyril would snap up to look at him. They each only nodded, knowing that their individual words could wait until after the meeting.

When Seteth saw Byleth enter the modestly spaced room, he immediately stiffened and looked at him head-on. "I am glad to see you are recovering quickly professor," he dryly stated. "As you know, we have much to discuss."

All three entered Rhea's chamber, with Seteth audibly shutting and locking the door behind him. Naturally, he began, "So I see you brought a _guest _here – a guest that was directly involved with numerous tragedies in the last few months."

Byleth looked down as he heard the statement. Flayn's kidnapping and the demonic beasts at the chapel were both sins that Kronya had direct involvement; and both of those instances were nothing compared to the heartache over losing Jeralt. However, the joy of saving a life burned bright within, as he now had the rare chance to pull someone from the darkness.

"I understand that I have acted outside of my authority, and I am willing to take full responsibility for whatever may happen," he said back to the advisor.

A small smirk appeared on Seteth's face, only to disappear a second later. "You make it sound like she'll be here for a while," he said lightly before continuing. "We have an individual that is guilty of several capital crimes, surely you must know that we would want to see justice served."

The young professor looked at the other man with a distant look in his eyes. "I know what you say is true, and I know it's the truth myself… but you weren't there. You didn't hear her screams of pain and pleading for her life…" Byleth then looked out the window before finishing, "You didn't see her reach for me, and beg me to help my former enemy."

While Seteth was slightly moved by the impassioned memory that was described, he also knew that Kronya was still a threat. "You are right, professor, when you say I was not there. However, we all know of her duplicitous nature when she was Monica. How are you not sure this is not another trap?"

"Because I physically saw her lose that nature you speak of. Solon ripped her heart right out of her chest," Byleth declared strongly. Seteth grimaced while the silent Rhea did make a small gasp.

Sensing the determination coming from him, Seteth let out a sigh. "I know you are not a spur-of-the-moment individual, but I must ask if you thought this one through. We don't have any places where we can keep such a dangerous individual; and that's not even considering what we would do with her."

Byleth made a strange face as he suddenly became very coy. "Well, I may have already told her what I would do, before I asked you two…"

A long and uncomfortable silence hung over the room as Seteth looked in shock, while Rhea looked surprisingly amused.

Noticing Seteth still speechless, Byleth continued, "I told her I would give her a purpose, and allow her to atone for her sins."

The words stayed in the two others' heads for a bit. Finally, it was Rhea who spoke first. "My child, you have a generous and forgiving heart. Where others would vote death, you instead have given someone a second chance. The goddess was right to have given her powers to you," she finished by looking at his new green hair and matching green eyes.

Seteth was perturbed, but nodded along with the archbishop. "Yes, she is right in saying that mercy is a divine notion. Additionally, you rescuing Flayn put me eternally in your debt. If you vow you can rehabilitate her then you have my blessing as well."

Inwardly, Byleth was overjoyed. Outwardly, he just had a grin. Before he could say thanks, he was quickly cut-off by Seteth. "However, she will have many, many rules that she will be following if she continues to want to live."

The advisor began, "First, she will continue to sleep in the prison cell for another week. If she can do that with no issues then she will be given a spare dorm near yours. This room will have constant surveillance and knights watching. Second, she will be joining your class so that you may both keep an eye on her and assist her in rehabilitation. Having classmates and other social interactions may keep her from going back. Third, if I find any, and I do mean _any_ incidents that I think constitute a threat, she will be dealt with swiftly. Do all of these conditions sound reasonable professor?"

Byleth hastily agreed to the demands, relieved that this new path forward was officially happening. He shook Seteth's hand and bowed respectfully towards Rhea as he left to go tell Kronya the good news.

Before he could leave though, Rhea called out to him. "Professor, please remember that we all carry regrets. If our guest were to betray you again, would you be able to live with that burden?" she cryptically said. Byleth responded with a nod, to which she returned with another smile.

As he walked through the hallways yet again, those words were still swirling through his brain. _Can I really trust her? Is this all just another trap? Maybe she's planning something so she can join her old team again_. He shook his head as he tried to get his doubts out of his mind. _If I fail at rehabilitating her, or if she betrays me, this will all have been for nothing – then my father's killer will have won a second time_. That particular thought made him clench his fist. As much as he tried to deny it, those angry thoughts of revenge bubbled to the surface of his psyche. He knew how easy it would be, both for him and his conscience. Killing her would put an end to the guilt he felt over losing his father, and it meant that Garreg Mach wouldn't have a security threat. However, the easy way was not the way that Jeralt raised him, and it was especially not the way he wanted to raise his students.

As he left the building, he was greeted by the amber and purple hues of sunset, showing just how much time had passed on this busy day. Realizing he hadn't even eaten yet, he went to the mess hall. Once he stepped foot inside, a voice bellowed out to him saying, "Hey professor! You need an eating buddy?"

Byleth spotted the large frame of Raphael, currently sitting at a table with a mountain of food. Despite being in another class, he always enjoyed listening to what the honest country boy had to say. After getting his own hearty meal, he sat down across from the student. Once they both started eating, Byleth said, "Thanks for inviting me over, I'm glad to see someone after everything that has happened."

The larger boy nodded before taking a large bite off a turkey leg. He swallowed and replied, "No problem! I figured food and friends would help you out right now. It's always helped me going through the rough times."

Byleth smiled to himself after hearing the simple answer. However, hearing the last part was just what he needed. "Raphael, do you mind if I ask you a personal question?"

His dining partner nodded before continuing eating another massive bite of food. After a pause, Byleth said, "It's about your parents. I've overheard you and Ignatz talking about this before, and Claude has also filled me in on some of the details." He let it sink in as Raphael realized this conversation was going to be personal.

"Yeah, what about them?" he responded while being slightly on edge. He was hoping that there wasn't some new detail that emerged, as he had already accepted that they were gone.

The professor continued, "I've heard details about how Count Gloucester may have been involved and-"

"Look, I'm sorry but I'm gonna have to ask you to stop," Raphael asserted to the professor. He looked mad, but not at Byleth. After a heavy sigh, the boy said, "I hope that wasn't out of line, but I'm just sick and tired of people trying to tell me something that I don't really care about. Me, my sis, and my gramps all miss my parents, but the truth won't make them come back to life." Raphael said before taking another bite of food, but noticeably less enthusiastic about eating.

"Even if it turns out the Count was responsible, what do I do then? Do I try and get revenge? Do I start hating Lorenz? Or do I start hating Iggy because his parents recommended mine should go? If I spend all my time thinking about the past, I can never think about my future as a knight. I told Iggy that I don't have time to hate, and I still don't have that kind of time," he finished as he put down his fork.

Byleth tried not to look stunned as he soaked in everything that Raphael said. He never knew how deep Raphael could be when discussing matters of the heart. After a long pause, Byleth finally talked back, "I can't thank you enough for what you've said."

The blond made a confused face before Byleth continued. "I've been thinking about if I did the right thing by saving Kronya's life, after all, she killed my father. But you're right, thinking about the past means I can't be in the future."

Raphael got a big smile as he heard the professor thank him. "I figured that situation would make you confused. But it's alright, we all have those things in our lives."

Byleth let out a sigh, but continued smiling. "I was supposed to see her after I met with Seteth and the Archbishop, but I couldn't with that on my mind, or on an empty stomach."

Another hearty laugh echoed throughout the mostly empty room as they both began to laugh. It felt good to do so after discussing such heavy topics. Finally standing up to leave, Raphael gave Byleth some parting words. "It's alright to feel mad or sad or whatever, but we're here for you, just like you're here for us," and with that he left to go back to his dorm. With a fresh pep in his step, Byleth made his way towards the treasury room.

**-o-O-o-o-O-o-o-O-o-**

Living underground meant that the Agarthans were not used to the usual day/night cycle. Being trapped in perpetual darkness with only artificial light made them uncaring to how surface dwellers organized their lives according to the sun. Because of this, Kronya was unaffected by living in a windowless room. Whereas most humans would be going wild, she was only bothered by how she could barely stretch her legs. However, a different kind of paranoia was starting to seep into her brain – she wondered if everything Byleth said was a lie. Despite only being gone for a few hours, that amount of time made her mind wander into dark places. She wondered if he already got what he wanted and would come back to execute her, or maybe she'll be interrogated and then it would happen. Either way, the silence was driving her mad. When she heard murmuring outside her cell, she figured it was just her mind playing tricks on her. However, when the door opened she was upright before Byleth even had a foot in the door.

Realizing how ridiculous she may have looked being so happy, she relaxed her posture and leaned against the wall. As he entered and they locked eyes, she saw he was also more relaxed as compared to earlier. "So, what's it gonna be?" she casually called out, even though her voice betrayed her anticipation.

Looking at her body posture conflicting with her voice, Byleth said, "You've been given mercy."

Although she heard the words, they didn't register with her until a few seconds later. Astounded, she replied, "Wait, I'm not going to die?"

"Well, that's up to you actually, because you're about to be under a lot more scrutiny," he honestly answered. "If you can behave yourself then you only have to stay in here for another six days. After that, you'll be joining my class," he finished and waited for her response.

She still wasn't over the fact that her execution had been halted by the person in front of her. Hearing the rest of what he said what almost too much to bear as she leaned her head back against the wall.

Seeing that she was still processing this, the professor kept going, "I hope you know how to say please and thank you because the next week is going to be a test. Everything you do will be recorded and only your absolute best behavior will allow you to leave."

Finally responding, all she could at first was look up at him with a ghost of a smile on her lips; and her eyes were wide with shock and joy. Kronya spoke, "I… I don't know what to say. You've saved my life twice now. I don't think I can repay you properly."

"You can actually," he interjected. "Do your best to be good, and don't fall back into who you once were. That's how you can repay me," he finished this with a small smile, but it was all she needed to see.

"Yes, yes! Absolutely yes! I'll do whatever I can to not let you down professor!" she energetically replied. The last part accidentally slipped out, making Byleth raise an eyebrow. "Um, that was an accident, but I guess we'll both have to get used to it," she said with a laugh. It wasn't the evil cackle that he was used to, instead she sounded genuinely joyous at the situation.

This made his own smile grow, happy that he had this chance to help someone. _Raphael was right, I have to look towards the future_. As he announced he was leaving, he suddenly turned around and rifled through his pockets. Kronya looked confused, and was hoping he wasn't about to pull out something crazy like a poison bomb. What he did pull out was just as surprising – a tuna sandwich from the mess hall.

"I managed to grab this from when I was eating earlier. I figure it's much better than whatever slop they're feeding you," he said while shaking his head.

"Actually they haven't fed me yet, most of them figured you were coming back to execute me…" she replied with a nervous chuckle.

A flash of anger appeared before quickly being dispelled. "I'll have a talk with them then. Starting tomorrow it'll be two meals and two restroom visits, guaranteed." She looked like she was glowing from how brightly she smiled.

Although the holes in the glass made it hard, Byleth managed to make it work by tearing off a piece, pushing it through the hole, having her eat that bite, then repeat the process until it was all gone. Looking completely content, she laid back down on her bed.

They both said their goodbyes as he left the room. After making his demands in a not-so-subtle way, he was finally able to get back to his room. The day may have been long but it was just another step on the long road to recovery. The more he thought about it, her rehabilitation was just as necessary for him as it was to her. They both needed this to work out, and he was eager to make sure it did.

* * *

**And there you have it! Chapter two of this fanfic that I never knew would work! I'm glad there are so many people that wondered what a rehabilitated Kronya would look like, and I'm glad I can be the one to deliver to you all. I used the paralogue between Raphael and Ignatz as the basis for Raphael's dialogue this chapter, and I had a blast writing him as well! Next chapter will be Byleth talking to his class about her joining, which means I get to write how Sylvain will react to that… Awesome… Until next time, take care!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Well I have to keep the train going at this point! After looking at the Fire Emblem sub-Reddit I realized Kronya is a pretty divisive character. However, I saw some interesting ideas on how she could be rehabilitated. Combining those ideas with my own, I think there's definite story potential for her! So, if you feel the same way I do, go and make your own fanfic as well! Either way, here's chapter three.**

* * *

**Chapter Three: Part of the Whole (Part 1)**

For the next week Byleth adapted to his new schedule. Wake up, visit Kronya, interrogate her, and then go to teach class. It was easy for him to change to new occurrences, after all, being a mercenary meant that there was constant change. However, over the last few days, the students, faculty, and basically everyone somehow were able to track him down and list their grievances. Many were worried, some were sad, and a few angry, but a surprising amount of people were curious. There was a black hole of information surrounding the captured assassin. Some thought she lived in the dark and her natural skin would burn in the sun. Others thought that she could willingly transform into a demonic beast. A select few believed she ate human flesh… which Byleth actually wasn't sure about. _She liked the sandwich from last night, so I just gotta keep her fed and then I won't find out if she's a cannibal_. He thought seriously, but then laughed as he realized how ridiculous it sounded. _Jeez, am I really thinking about constantly feeding my students to make them like me? Wait a minute… _That realization made him bolt out of his room as he knew he needed some fresh air.

He was glad to be out early and able to get to the cafeteria. It was always filled in the morning, with many of his students coming to greet him. Understandably, almost everyone that came to see him had something to say about Kronya, over and over and over again with the constant questions. While he was able to answer to the best of his ability, he knew that there were going to be some gaps. Even then, people still kept asking him questions. As he was sitting with some of his students, he finally snapped. Felix was halfway through talking about her sword technique for the fifth time before Byleth cut him off, "Ok, ok, ok, ok, this has gone on long enough."

He started talking loudly, hoping any eavesdroppers would carry his message around. "It's Thursday morning, which means I've been answering questions for three days straight and people still aren't satisfied," he kept looking around at all the faces he managed to gather. "I'm going to finish my breakfast, go into my office, and I'll have one-on-one sessions with anyone who pops their head in, understood?" A round of nods answered his question as he laughed to himself, remembering the night of the ball. _Sothis was right, everyone really does want to talk to me_.

Breakfast resumed normally shortly after his declaration. Soon, it was back to Felix and Ingrid arguing over ideals vs. reality, Annette and Mercedes gossiping or discussing sweets, and Ashe getting lectured by Sylvain on how to pick up girls. Byleth noted that Dimitri wasn't present, meaning Dedue was naturally missing as well. It was slightly concerning, as Dedue informed the professor a while ago about the prince's lack of sleep and constant headaches. He knew he would have to talk to him sometime soon, especially before the week was over. Gathering up his dishes, he returned them before heading back to his room, where he already saw a few people forming a line. Groaning, he went inside and pulled out two chairs.

The first to enter was Flayn. She always surprised the professor with how she could be everywhere and nowhere at the same time. He didn't recall her vibrant, green hair in the cafeteria, but she was probably at the pond and looking at fish. She bowed respectfully, to which Byleth simply smiled and waved away. Starting, he said, "Flayn, it's always a pleasure to see you, what's on your mind?"

"Well professor, ever since our new classmate arrived here my brother has been beside himself with concern over me."

Byleth was confused by this, seeing as how composed Seteth looked while discussing the situation. However, he was also happy seeing Flayn already address Kronya as a fellow student. He responded, "That's odd, he was perfectly normal when I talked to him about the whole arrangement."

"Well, you do not see the side of him that I do," she replied in a terse manner. She then looked back to him and said, "Either way, I want to ask you about her. What is she like?"

He chuckled at the innocent question asked by Flayn. If it were any other person he would say it was sarcasm but he knew that she was genuinely curious about Kronya. "Well she's a true fighter – just like Caspar or Felix – so I'll have to remember that she views violence as a necessity."

Flayn looked saddened by this as she said, "That is quite unfortunate. I was hoping she would see violence as a faulty path, considering where she ended up."

"I think the only thing that changed was who she views as friend and foe. Unfortunately, that's really the only thing a solider needs to know," he replied while matching her tone.

During the silence, Byleth had his own question. "Flayn, what do you think of her? You've always been one of the most honest students I have."

Not expecting the turnaround, she responded, "Personally, I do not know her well enough to have an exact opinion. But she seems like she wants to become a better person, which is something most admirable."

He motioned her to continue, curious as to why she thinks this. "Well, when you were swallowed by that terrible spell, Mercedes and I tried our best to heal her. During this time, she was losing consciousness, yet all she could say was 'thank you' over and over again. It was the most peculiar thing. As healers, we were both just happy to see that a life had been saved."

Byleth was about to say something but then Flayn kept on going with an excited voice. "I realized that if she was grateful for being saved, then she could still have some ember of goodness that we need to kindle with kindness until it becomes a roaring flame of becoming a better person!" she finished this off with her arms moving more and more as she got absorbed by her lengthy metaphor.

He openly laughed at the wonderful display of emotions. Flayn was a bit embarrassed when she calmed down, but shared the laugh with her professor. "Despite that, I do not know much about her, certainly she must have some interests? Were you able to gather any information regarding that?" she questioned.

Byleth chuckled at her wide vocabulary and said, "I wasn't able to get any of that either. I've been trying to get any information out of her now, that way I can focus on rehabilitation once she's let out. Although there was one thing…" he trailed off, watching as she was completely drawn in by what he had to say. "She was a big fan of the tuna sandwich that I gave her a few nights ago."

Hearing someone else enjoy fish was all Flayn needed to know. "That is truly wonderful news professor! I shall instruct someone to prepare a fish meal upon her release, or perhaps I could make it myself… either way, thank you for that!"

Before Byleth could _delicately_ explain that Kronya might not enjoy her cooking, Flayn was already out the door and humming a happy tune. _I hope new student doesn't lock herself up after eating a Flayn surprise meal_…

**-o-O-o-o-O-o-o-O-o-**

Ingrid was always a fast eater, but today she practically inhaled her large meal. Raphael and Caspar could be heard cheering her on as she tried to quickly finish her food and go see her professor. Thankfully, the non-students were coming and going at a relatively quick pace, so she only stayed in line for a short while. It didn't pass her that her professor started smiling as he caught her eye, relieved to see someone that actually knows proper questions. As she sat down, she saw that he was writing some things down in his journal before joining her.

"Those are just some questions I'll ask Kronya the next time I see her. They're mostly fish related…" he said with a small laugh. She laughed in return, knowing immediately who he was talking about.

"Thank you for seeing me professor, I'll try to take up as little of time as possible," she began.

"Nonsense Ingrid, ask whatever you have on your mind, no matter how long it takes. You're among the most diligent students I have," he said in turn.

Not expecting a compliment like that, she smiled off to the side before looking straight at him. "Are you sure we can trust her?"

He had already been asked this question a million times, but this one felt real – mostly because Ingrid would be fighting alongside the prisoner, rather than just occupy the same building. "I would be lying if I said I completely trust her, but all other options are too cruel," he said neutrally.

"Surely you see the security risk she poses – not only to our class but to all of Fodlan."

Byleth jumped in, "Surely that's being a little overdramatic-"

Then she cut him off and said, "Not really. If she gets out and hurts or kills anyone here then the lords will lose faith in Garreg Mach. They'll pull out their support, and then there won't be anywhere that all countries can come together peacefully." She said all this with her frown getting deeper and deeper, the same way it did whenever she talked to Sylvain or Felix. Once that was all out, she quickly bowed and said, "I apologize. I meant no disrespect to you or your opinion professor."

"No offense taken, you make an excellent point," he said as she raised her head, thankful that he understood where she was coming from. "However, do you remember when Lord Lonato was to be killed by the church?"

She nodded solemnly, remembering how everyone was deeply affected by killing civilians with little combat experience. It was basically a slaughter. "I remember."

"Dimitri said that we should have tried to work things out with them, despite everything that had happened. Here, I see something similar. Kronya has absolutely committed heinous crimes, and she could have been put to death for any number of them. Despite this, I saw something in here that was worth saving." He stopped himself and saw Ingrid looking closely at him, obviously enamored with what he had to say. Continuing on, "I saw how easily Solon betrayed her, meaning she had little to do with any planning. After all, killing strategists is how someone loses a war. She was probably just an attack dog or some other expendable grunt to the actual leaders. More importantly, I saw her reach out to me, begging me to save her. If I let her die, then I'd spend the rest of my life wondering if she could have been saved."

His guest was stunned into silence by this admittance. Ingrid never thought about it so deeply before, but the professor was right. She, too, remembered the screams of agony coming from the clown assassin. While she may have enjoyed it at the moment, now she always felt a pang of shame for taking pleasure in sadism.

"I… I see now professor. Thank you for enlightening me to your point of view. I have struggled with my personal desires of vengeance for a while now, ever since the tragedy in Duscur," she said while looking down.

This surprised Byleth, as he saw no problems arise between her and Dedue. Sensing his interest, she continued, "I always wondered why Dimitri chose to save Dedue, despite knowing just how badly those people hurt him, hurt all of us… but I think I get it now. Dimitri saving Dedue's live ending the constant stream of death. You saving Kronya did the same thing. I get it now professor."

She wrapped up her thoughts with a smile and thanked him for his time. As she left his room, Byleth noticed he was smiling too. This change of plans was definitely going better than he anticipated. He had already heard great questions from two students and was hoping this would continue. When he heard a knock at the door, he requested them inside.

**-o-O-o-o-O-o-o-O-o-**

Felix walked in with his usual, aloof demeanor. He didn't have to be loud like Raphael in order to get a crowd's attention. However, this time his crowd was just one person. Sitting down in the provided chair, he began instantly. "So professor, let's continue our earlier conversation. How does she fare on the battlefield?"

"She's an acrobatic assassin. I noticed she can move quickly and her footsteps barely made any noise until she was sprinting away from me. When she does have to fight, she prefers to make many movements before suddenly lunging. I'd say she's a tricky one."

The young swordmaster scoffed hearing this. "Great, a stealthy one… can't we find some real fighters for our team?" Byleth chuckled hearing Felix gripe about this. Thinking back on it, the only sword fighter he had was Dimitri; and he definitely knew how well those two got along.

"Well maybe with some training she'll become a swordmaster like yourself. I never saw her use a bow," the professor suggested. Felix nodded in response as they both became quiet. Byleth figured this would happen, since his guest was never too keen on talking much. Getting an idea, he then said, "How about you spar with her once she's released? I'm sure she'd appreciate being able to keep her skills sharp."

The thought of sparing made Felix smile, and Byleth was glad to see someone without any hang-ups talk about Kronya. As much as her past and her behavior needed to be talked about, it was tiring after a while.

As he got up to leave, Felix said, "I'm glad to see revenge hasn't driven you wild like it did to the boar prince. Then again, keep an eye on her. She seems to like bloodshed a little too much, and I'd hate to start calling her the boar princess." With that, he shut the door behind him and left. As Byleth thought about what he said, he had only one thing on his mind. _Did Felix just tell a joke?_

* * *

**Hey everyone! I wasn't expecting to make this a two-parter but I realized that I have a lot of characters to get through. Plus, I don't want you all thinking I died on you! I gotta get these parts out of the way before she is formally introduced to the class. Unfortunately, my own classes are starting to heat up, but I'll still try my best for you all. Remember to leave me your thoughts and have a good day!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Well it appears college and work have destroyed my free time again… I'm sorry to make you all wait so long for a two-parter that is just background conversations. I'll try to address some concerns you all have brought up regarding Kronya's knowledge about Edelgard. In the meantime, enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Four: Part of the Whole (Part 2)**

As Byleth relaxed for a couple of minutes, he reflected on how relatively simple this ordeal was playing out. His meetings with both his students and the general staff were not as contentious as he expected them to be, in fact they were eye-opening as to how he could do better and what he should have done differently. While Ingrid and Kronya herself didn't like the idea of a prisoner here at Garreg Mach, Flayn was practically bouncing at the thought of making a new friend. The kidnapping ordeal that Kronya was directly involved with didn't seem to faze the green-haired girl at all. He smiled at this thought, hoping that the rest of the class could adopt the same attitude sooner or later.

As he got up and approached the door, the door promptly swung open as the casual Sylvain greeted the professor. "Heya, I was hoping to ask some questions of my own."

Byleth struggled to hold back his groan. He knew Sylvain would be coming here eventually, so he tried preparing a mental list of all questions that would be asked about the new transfer.

He stepped aside and let the older student inside, getting ready to politely inform him that he shouldn't comment on someone who's potentially dangerous. However, once they both sat down, Byleth noticed an oddly serious face coming from his guest.

"So how can I help you today Sylvain?" he said neutrally, seeing where the direction would go.

He took a big breath and replied, "Look, I know you've probably gotten this a million times already but I just want to make sure your head's on right. You know how dangerous this creature is, right?"

The green-haired man wasn't expecting that term to be used against Kronya. He expected Ingrid or Leonie to use it, but definitely not some who enjoys the female form as much as Sylvain. Regardless, he answered back, "I've gotten that question a lot over the last few days, but I can assure you everything is alright. I just got a new hairdo is all," he ended with a slightly forced laugh.

Sylvain smiled in response, but then continued, "I mean, I don't doubt you got new powers, I'm just worried that they made you cocky or overconfident – I'm an expert in both those fields after all," he finished with his own small laugh.

Straightening up, Byleth responded, "I know many people think I am different now, and they would be right, but I'm trying to embrace that. Surely you remember how monotonous I was when I started here."

"That's definitely true. I think your first smile was after the Battle of Eagle and Lion!" Sylvain shot back with a genuine laugh this time. Byleth actually had to think about when his first smile was while at Garreg Mach.

Once he stopped, the redhead continued, "I'm glad that you changed and that your change was for the better… but some people don't change. They're bad, and they stay bad until they're put to the sword."

Byleth looked away, thinking about what his student said until it clicked. "You're thinking about your brother, aren't you?"

"Bingo," he replied with a sad smile. "He was always a bastard. He tried killing me so many times to get his birthright back. No matter how much I tried to love him or put myself down in front of my parents, he hated me with every ounce of his being."

The professor tried to interject but Sylvain kept going, "And I overheard Edelgard saying how it was a shame that he was driven to become a bandit because of the crest system. The goddess-damned crest system was somehow to blame!"

It honestly made Byleth sad seeing his student so upset like this. He knew he should have been closer to him; and helped him get through these feelings, rather than let him bottle them up until he exploded – like he was doing now.

Letting him rant, Sylvain went on, "How does she not realize that people need to be blamed for the actions they personally do? Caspar hasn't become a bandit and he's in the same boat as Miklan! Both nobles with no crests so they have to make their own way in the world, the difference being Caspar wants to do good… and my brother looted and pillaged because he hated everything."

When he was finally over, he looked to his professor, ashamed of his outburst. "I-I'm sorry you had to hear all that. I haven't gotten my feelings out properly, I guess…"

Byleth finally spoke up, "Don't worry Sylvain, I know I never got the chance to ask how you were doing after that whole situation occurred; and for that I am truly sorry."

He laughed it off awkwardly, not wanting to show too much emotion in front of his professor. "Sorry about all that, I had planned a much better-sounding speech for you… not an angry rant."

Byleth nodded with a smile, motioning him to say what's on his mind. Sylvain then said, "What I'm trying to get at is that people don't change. I mean, you did, but I think deep down you always were caring – you just struggled showing it. Kronya, on the other hand, is the killer of Jeralt, and directly involved with various attacks that killed scores of people. She's not going to become a saint just because you're sticking out for her."

The professor nodded along as he heard his student voice his concerns. It was pleasing knowing that people felt this comfortable and open around him. He let Sylvain finish before saying, "I understand your concerns, as well as everyone else who said something similar. You're absolutely right when you said people need to atone for their personal sins… but doesn't that apply to you as well?"

Sylvain tilted his head in confusion, but didn't like where this was going. Byleth continued, "You've broken plenty of hearts but blamed your crest or your family name on why so many girls are attracted to you. Don't you think that you should also take personal responsibility for the things you've done, just like you said about your brother?"

"That's… that's totally different professor! Both of them are murderers! What I do is hardly a crime," he protested.

"True, but where is the line drawn then? Where does it become a person's fault rather than societies?" Byleth retorted.

Sylvain sat in silence, slightly grumbling to himself as he got up. "I wish you didn't make so many good points. I'll think about what you said, but you have to promise to think about what I said in return."

Byleth nodded in response, causing a small smile to appear on the redhead's face as he opened the door and left the room. _Well that went better than expected, almost a two for one!_

**-o-O-o-o-O-o-o-O-o-**

It was getting late in the day when Byleth realized he hadn't had a proper meal. The interviews definitely dragged on as he dealt with the same question over and over and over again. Thankfully, with the sun dipped below the horizon and the sky starting to fade, people were less likely to bother him. He made his way into the dining hall and got another hearty plate of food, similar to when he had the pleasant conversation with Raphael. It was after he began his meal he heard a familiar, polite voice.

"Professor, it's surprising to see you here so late. Do you mind if I join you?" Byleth looked over his shoulder to see a smiling, confident Dimitri approaching him. He motioned to the seat across from him, to which the prince graciously thanked him for.

Looking at the large plate of food, Dimitri let out a small chuckle and said, "It appears that dealing with people all day has certainly famished you, not that I am surprised though."

Byleth nodded in response as he chewed and swallowed before speaking, "You're right about that. It seems that everyone is still panicking – either about me or about her."

"People's minds are difficult to change, especially after a tragedy. Losing Jeralt was a significant blow to Garreg Mach, and the people here are still struggling to adapt to Kronya's presence, even if she's still locked up," the blond replied.

Nodding, Byleth tried to continue eating while still being respectable to his guest. Sensing this, Dimitri continued, "I have heard some of our classmates discussing the current situation. As you know, Ingrid and Sylvain are apprehensive but will support your decision. Flayn, Mercedes, and Ashe are already on board, which leaves Annette and Felix being somewhat skeptical but still more supportive than the other two. You can probably guess by now that Dedue will go where I go too…"

Finishing up his meal, Byleth asked the obvious question, "Where are you then?"

"I am with you one hundred percent professor. Although Kronya has done unspeakable evil, I do not believe she was a mastermind behind any of those atrocities."

It pleased Byleth greatly to hear that his house leader was on his side, but he still waved him on to continue his thoughts.

Seeing this, Dimitri kept going. "At the chapel, the man in the cloak said he only saved her because she had a goal to complete, which means she would be disposable at some point. When we overheard them talking to the Flame Emperor, both of those people seemed irritated by Kronya's presence. Finally, in the Sealed Forest, she was sacrificed and cast aside without any thought by Solon, further proving that she was just an attack dog for that shadowy group of people."

Byleth cut in after the last part, "She said they're all called 'Agarthans' so I guess there's a separate group working with the Flame Emperor. That would explain why they were upset with Solon at Remire Village."

The thought of what happened there made the prince's hand curl into a fist before letting go and relaxing again. "Either way, it would appear that she was not worth saving for their long-term goals."

"You're right about that, and I think that's why she's been telling us what she knows," the professor said in return.

"Speaking of which, how have the interrogations gone? I've heard she responds well when there is food involved," Dimitri asked with a laugh.

He smiled and said, "It's going well, although there is something that concerns me."

Hearing this, the blond snapped to a serious expression. Byleth continued, "She's very forthcoming about various subjects. We've learned all about the fortress city that the Agarthans live in, but Kronya has only left it through teleportation, meaning she can't pin it down on a map. We also learned that her people are very old and have lived since the goddess walked among us. Then again, she said she was only told that the surface world was evil and needed to be destroyed."

The prince nodded along and said, "It makes sense she wasn't told much. After all, you don't debate philosophy with a barbarian, you just point them at the enemy. She wasn't told much because they never intended her to be much."

Byleth looked away but shook his head in agreement. Kronya really was nothing but expendable to her masters. Thinking this, he looked back to his guest and said, "Maybe that's the reason she involved herself in so many attacks. Maybe she wanted to prove herself to be more than just a solider."

"That might be the case, and I hope it is as well. If she was doing this just to be recognized, then that means we can be the ones to give her the attention she's craving, and we'll steer her in a better direction."

The professor heard this and smirked, then answered, "I think she'll get plenty of attention based on that outfit she wears…"

Dimitri almost choked on his spit hearing his teacher say that out loud. "Professor! You shouldn't say things like that!" he proclaimed, but with a slight blush as well.

Byleth held up his hands in mock surrender. "You're right, you're right, but I seriously will need to acquire a school uniform for her once she's released. I'll let Mercedes handle the… girl issues…" he finished with an exaggerated shudder.

The prince laughed yet again as he then looked lost in thought. Sensing this, Byleth tilted his head. When he snapped out of it, Dimitri said, "Sorry professor, I just realized something. If you think about it, Kronya is basically the opposite of Dedue."

Byleth almost laughed out loud hearing this extremely obvious statement. "Yes they are Dimitri," he dryly said. "One is a mountain of a man and the other is a tiny girl."

Getting slightly flustered, the blond waved his hands around. "That's not what I meant!" Finally calming down, he took a deep breath and finished his thought. "What I meant is that Dedue sees himself as only a vassal, but everyone wants him to accept that he is a valuable friend and ally. Kronya, on the other hand, thought that she was more than just a solider, but to everyone else she was just expendable."

Byleth agreed with his student's logic. He noticed that she was almost eager to tell him certain things about the Agarthans – most likely because she wanted to get revenge on them. Remembering the subject of interrogations made him realize he forgot his train of thought from earlier.

"Ah, I forgot to finish what I was saying earlier," he started. Dimitri thought back to the previous conversation before motioning his professor to continue. "While Kronya can be an open book on certain subjects, she'll suddenly get quiet on others. I know she's hiding something, but she's freely given out critical information on other topics…"

Byleth looked around the mostly empty cafeteria before leaning in close. "When I asked her about her relationship with your step-sister, she shut down on the spot."

Dimitri's face paled instantly as he heard this. He had his own information that he had been withholding from the professor. After hearing this, he decided to talk. "Professor, do you remember when we spied on the Flame Emperor, Kronya, and…Thales? I believe?"

Sensing something big about to be told, the green-haired man nodded. "When the Flame Emperor dropped that dagger… it was the same dagger I gave Edelgard so many years ago."

Byleth didn't show his shock, but was greatly disturbed by the revelation. He noticed Dimitri's hand clutching into a fist yet again, and gently placed his own hand over his. Looking up into his professor's eyes, the blond relaxed yet again. After taking a few breaths, he kept going, "It doesn't mean anything yet. For all we know she fought the Flame Emperor and lost the knife… or maybe my sister has been replaced by an imposter – just like Tomas was with Solon."

They both knew they were only throwing out guesses, but it felt better than being in the dark on what has been going on recently. Sensing the fatigue from such a heavy topic, Byleth got out of his chair, to which his student followed suit.

"It's been a long day for the both of us, since I'm sure you have also been trying to help everyone calm down with all these sudden changes. We still haven't even discussed Lady Rhea's mission in the Holy Tomb with the rest of the class…" Byleth said with a sigh. He had been so wrapped up with this new situation that he was starting to slack on his regular teaching job.

"No need to worry about that professor," Dimitri said with a confident smile. "We all know that you'll do a tremendous job, just as you always do."

Byleth gave an equally confident smile as they both left the room and began walking back to their respective quarters. Before the professor entered his room, he turned around to say one last thing to his student. "I'll get to the bottom of Kronya and what she's hiding. It bothers me that she'll freely hurt the Agarthans but won't do anything about Edelgard. Why is she so scared of speaking out against her?"

Dimitri laughed loudly before composing himself. "I don't think Seteth would approve of you getting to your student's bottoms."

Byleth gave him a cold glare before his smile broke through, eventually joining in on the laughter. "I think some of Sylvain's language must of rubbed off on me when we were talking earlier… you heard none of this by the way."

The prince ran his hand across his mouth. "My lips are sealed professor. I hope all our guesses are wrong and that Edelgard simply has embarrassing blackmail on Kronya."

Dimitri and Byleth both exchanged their good nights and goodbyes before heading off to bed. As Byleth laid in bed, his mind couldn't let go of what Dimitri said about Edelgard and the Flame Emperor. If something truly was going on it would have to wait until after the mission. Then he could finally have some free time to investigate all the rumors. Until then, his job was still to train his students, including the newest one. With that, he promptly fell asleep.

**-o-O-o-o-O-o-o-O-o-**

Unbeknownst to the entire monastery, another interview was happening right now. But unlike all the other ones, this one was with Kronya; and she wasn't able to escape from any hard questions this time.

"You know, the only reason you're still alive is because your death would be troublesome for Lady Edelgard," the slithery voice said from one side of the glass.

Kronya replied, "Of course I know that, why do you think I haven't answered any questions about my time in the Black Eagles?" She had been spending her night like any other – laying around and trying to exercise in the cramped room. Suddenly, a familiar flash of sickly purple light entered the room and another familiar figure was standing before her.

The man said nothing as he looked at her. "Regardless, your allies seem not to care about their secrets being spilled. This is most likely because they know who will win in the end either way."

Kronya smirked at that statement, "Oh really? And who will that be? Because I remember you and Edie fighting your own forces in Remire and in the Sealed Forest."

The use of such a disrespectful nickname almost sent him into a rage before he realized that he needed to be quiet. It was difficult to remember that he couldn't deal with her the same way he dealt with all other bothersome individuals.

Sensing the apprehension, she kept talking, "Aww, what's the matter Hubie? Did I strike a nerve?" Kronya said, with her darkly comedic voice and using Dorothea's pet name for him.

However, Hubert didn't let the same trick work twice. "I see through your pathetic mind games and will simply remind you of how close your life is to ending. You may be safe in Garreg Mach, but know that out on the field you will be hunted; and even this place won't be safe for long." With that, Hubert disappeared with another flash of purple light, leaving Kronya alone with her thoughts.

Speaking aloud, she said, "What am I to do… I could expose Edelgard, but then I'd become a massive target for both her and the Agarthans." Just saying that name, despite being who she was as well, made her feel sickened.

"If I stay quiet then I'll be safe, but they probably won't spare me just for that. I could always switch sides…" she trailed off, unable to even finish that sentence. She didn't notice until her hand was stinging but she was clenching her fist so tightly that her nails left cuts in her palm.

"Heh, I guess I couldn't even forgive myself if I did that. I guess that means I'm sticking by the professor's side," she declared. She also realized that she called Byleth her professor again, but liked the way it sounded. Never before did she have an authority figure actually care about her development.

"I'll stick by their side, and we'll get through whatever comes our way." Finally feeling a little bit better about her situation, she was able to lay down and let her eyes rest, with sleep coming easy to her tonight.

* * *

**And there you have it folks! I gotta say it feels so good to finally have something to give to you all. Writing dialogue used to be something I hated but now it's one of my favorite things to do. I just love trying to get into a character's head and thinking what would be appropriate and correct for them to say. I hope my explanation as to why Kronya hasn't snitched sounded alright to you all. While she may be trying to change, she still values her life over many other things. Next chapter will finally see her be introduced to the Blue Lions, and hopefully I can write some fluff pieces rather than all story stuff. Regardless, I hope you all liked this chapter and leave a review! Have a wonderful day!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Well hello again my wonderful readers. You should all know that life is hectic. Work and grad school both eat my time, and any spare time I have just makes me want to sleep the day away. Regardless, I'll try to maintain a better schedule, especially knowing that the other Kronya fanfiction authors are still going strong! Either way, I'm still here for you all, and I appreciate all the follows and favorites and reviews that I've received. **

**Also, nothing would make me happier than seeing a Nintendo Direct saying Kronya is now recruit-able…**

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**Chapter Five: The Third Introduction of Kronya**

The time that Kronya spent in her cell allowed her plenty of time to think. She thought of her home in Shambhala, she thought of when she was accepted into the inner circle of Agarthan leaders, and she thought about how it was all a lie. Her skills were cultivated to be thrown away later. Her loyalty, devotion, and eagerness to please her commanders were disregarded in exchange for a gamble that didn't even pay off. The Fell Star survived the forbidden spell, and Solon was cut down moments later. She was used and discarded as nothing more than ammunition for a spell. Now, her only chance at living was with her former enemies.

The assassin sat and stared at the glass wall that separated her and the outside world. The only communication she had in the last week was with Byleth and Hubert, and it was clear that Edelgard's retainer was not there for a friendly chat. The professor was the only one who kept her company, even though he should be the one who wants her dead the most. She wondered if her future classmates even wanted to speak with her, or if they were even allowed to.

Her train of thought was put to a sudden end when the door swung open. Alois and Catherine both walked in with no-nonsense looks on their faces. Gulping audibly, Kronya stood at attention.

Alois spoke first. "Your sentence is over as of now. You will be escorted to the archbishop's room where the terms of your probation will be set."

Catherine cut in, "Give us any reason to cut you down and we will do it without any hesitation."

Kronya could only meekly nod in agreement as she turned around and put her wrists together. The glass wall was then removed, with the clasping of bindings happening almost immediately. Upon feeling her restraints, she knew she could easily lock-pick her way out of them. However, that was the situation she never wanted to get to. With Alois in front and Catherine guarding the back, the trip through the monastery was deathly quiet. Some students stopped in their tracks to see the decorated knights escort the famous prisoner. Other ones, the newest students there, were wondering why the incredibly pale girl was heading towards the archbishop's study surrounded by knights.

Once they all passed through the double doors, Kronya saw the face of Rhea. Standing like a statue of justice, the cold and dispassionate eyes made the clown girl feel smaller than an ant. There was something terrifying about the green-haired woman – something beyond her title as archbishop. Standing to the left of her was Seteth, who glared daggers at Kronya. She whimpered when she realized this what the man she took Flayn from. However, to Rhea's right was Byleth, to which warmed Kronya's heart – even though she thought it was destroyed.

"You have committed grave sins against all of Fodlan. You will be receive your punishment now." Rhea began with a voice that only Seteth had heard before.

Seteth then spoke up, "Had it not been for Byleth's recommendation, you would have faced summary execution by the church."

Byleth winced at these words. He already knew that they were going along with his plan, but he hoped the charade didn't traumatize his new student. Kronya looked to him for comfort, to which he gave her a small smile.

"Because he has faced the most tragedy connected to you, we deferred to his opinion that you were simply a solider following orders. Your betrayal at the hands of Solon, as well as your assistance in our interrogations, helped decide this judgement too," Seteth continued.

Rhea took back over, "You will enter the Blue Lions house, under the strict supervision of Byleth as your new professor."

Though not new information to Kronya, it was still reassuring to hear that she was going to class, rather than going to the chopping block.

Seteth spoke up, "We need not remind you that any missteps will result in swift, and severe, punishment. I would hope that you understand trust is difficult to rebuild. Some of your classmates are ready to forgive you…"

For a split second, Byleth noticed that the green-haired man looked away. He felt his lips turn upward into a small smile as he realized Seteth was talking about Flayn, and how eager she was to meet her new classmate.

"However, many others will need to see that you truly have reformed. Your words and actions will be judged harshly. You should be prepared for that."

With that, he stepped back and allowed Rhea to say her part. "As I have told your professor, mercy is a divine gift, and one that should be commended when practiced."

The archbishop began walking forward, making Kronya freeze in place. "But mercy has its limits. Any further breaches of trust, and the only mercy you will be given is a clean cut above your shoulders."

The older woman's eyes bored holes through the young Agarthan's skull. If she knew this was the power wielded by her opponents then she would have ditched Shambhala long ago. Again. Kronya looked over Rhea's shoulder to see Byleth standing still, but noticeably concerned.

Rhea was now standing in front of the gray girl. She reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder. The light touch made Kronya audibly flinch, but she then looked up to see a small smile on the archbishop's face.

"You are in the finest hands of all Fodlan. I have the upmost faith in your professor, and I believe our next conversation will be about your progress." Rhea then turned to face Byleth and said, "You are both dismissed. I'm sure she is much more eager to meet her classmates than continue this conversation."

Rhea let out a small chuckle as she turned back to Kronya. Although Seteth was as stone-faced as ever, she seemed a bit more relaxed than earlier. Byleth walked over to his new student and pushed her along, noticing that her legs were seemingly still petrified. As the duo made their way down the stairs, Seteth turned to the archbishop.

"Rhea, I have trusted in your judgement for an undefinable amount of time, but your recent decisions worry me."

She faced her old friend with a hard look and said, "I understand your concern, but you do not know how close I am- how close _we_ are seeing our people come back."

"Even if this plan of yours works out, that means the entire continent will need to learn the truth about the church!"

Rhea shot back, "If that is what it takes to see mother again then I will gladly risk it all."

Seteth wanted to keep going could feel the temperature rising in the room. He looked away for a bit and closed his eyes. Breathing deeply, he looked back to her. "What about Byleth? Would you really be willing to risk him for this gamble?"

The green-haired woman looked away hearing this, knowing that Seteth was right. Her face softened as she looked back to him and said, "The only ones I value more than him are you and Flayn. What he has done for us, the church, and indeed all of Fodlan is remarkable. If it can be avoided then I will take any steps to prevent us from losing him."

Nodding, Seteth dropped this sensitive topic. There was another thing in his mind. "What about our new guest? Does she not worry you at all?"

Seteth expected Rhea to go back to her steely expression whenever the Agarthans were brought up. However, her smile stayed still on her face. "It's like I said, she is in the most capable hands that we have."

With that, the two leaders of the church bid each other farewell and went on to do their other duties.

**-o-O-o-o-O-o-o-O-o-**

Before Sothis had awakened within Byleth, he would never have known what it was like to have a crowd judge him. Sure, he was an expert at looking through a crowd and analyzing if there are any threats within, but now he was dealing with an entirely new scenario. The faces looking at him were threats to his pride and credentials as a teacher, as well as personally uncomfortable. With every person that stops to look at him, he thinks again if he made the right decision. Looking to his right, he saw that his "decision" was taking this as well as he was. Kronya's walk was slow, but still matching her new professor. Despite being a pleasant day, her arms were folded across her abdomen, quite literally holding herself together as the stress bubble kept swelling.

As they left the monastery, the bridge connecting both areas never felt longer. It only took a brisk walk to cross it before, but now the stone path seemed to stretch on forever. A stray, chill wind blew through the open area, causing Kronya to clutch her arms to her body even tighter. Wordlessly, Byleth removed his overcoat and draped it around her shoulders.

The sudden contact on her exposed body made Kronya almost reel. Her head snapped immediately to Byleth as her wide eyes scattered around the bridge. Realizing there wasn't any threat present she relaxed and slipped her arms through the sleeves. It looked slightly ridiculous on her, as the large jacket wasn't meant for her slim frame.

Shakily, she spoke up. "T-Thank you professor…" She didn't know what else to say, but she could tell by the small smile on his face that she didn't have to worry as much.

"You're welcome. I figured your outfit didn't offer much protection," he finished with a small laugh.

The feeling of her cheeks becoming flushed was an experience that had never happened before. While pretending to be Monica, she read romance novels and listened to gossip, but never seemed to actually grasp the topics being discussed. Now, however, she understood what it meant to be embarrassed. She never thought about her outfit, or what others would think about the skintight black leotard.

"It's not like I did this on purpose!" she exclaimed, but could also hear how flustered she was. "I wanted something that wouldn't cast a shadow, wouldn't get in the way, and wouldn't make any noises."

Byleth thought about what she was saying and knew her points were valid. An assassin would need their outfit to be as concealing as possible. However, a smirk appeared on his face, causing Kronya to groan in anticipation.

"If you wanted to be concealed then why are you so revealed?" he said before laughing at his own joke.

The reddening on her cheeks only became more obvious as she heard what he said. Facing him as they walked, she replied, "It's a tactical advantage against hormonal enemies!"

Now it was Byleth's turn to groan as he looked away but kept on listening. His new student began to run her hands along her body and describe these "tactical advantages" to her outfit.

"Ok, so in a fight you're gonna be looking at your opponent's face because that will tell what their next action is. But the chest is only a short distance away from the face, so they take their eyes of me… well one part of me to look at another… and in that brief time I can close the distance!"

Trying to ignore her talking about her body, Byleth turned back to her and saw how Kronya was beaming, proud of her skill. However, she then abruptly turned away, not able to look her professor in the eye. He quickly realized that she was still uncomfortable with this kind of conversation – one specifically about killing on the battlefield.

In a much smaller voice than before, she said, "I-I'm sorry to have brought that up professor… I hope you know I wasn't trying to be insensitive…"

He grabbed her shoulder and stopped both of them. Then, he looked directly into her eyes, almost piercing her soul. "It will take me some time to truly come to terms with what happened."

She could only flick her gaze away for a brief moment before looking back into his eyes of the goddess. He then spoke again, "But I know your part was only minimal. Your hands may have committed the act, but it was all part of a plan made by people who threw you away once they had the chance. So please, do not think of your abilities as evil. What you do with your skills will determine who you are."

With that, he let go of her and continued walking, with her standing in place for a few seconds before running to catch up with him. The rest of the walk was in a comfortable silence, and their conversation made the time fly by. It was only a few minutes later that they were both standing in front of the Blue Lion's classroom. Before he left to see Rhea, he told Dimitri to gather everyone inside to welcome their newest member. Walking to the closed doors, he knocked twice.

"Yes professor, we are all here!" Dimitri called out from within.

Smiling, Byleth proceeded to open the large doors, revealing his class to Kronya. Although there were a few disapproving looks sent Byleth's way, most of the students were happy to see the newest orange-haired girl.

With his ever-present smile, Dimitri was the first to walk up to her and offer his hand. "I can speak for _almost_ everyone when I say that we're welcome to have you here," he said while slightly looking over his shoulder to his two friends that didn't approve.

Although Kronya shook his hand in return, no words were coming out of her mouth. She was speechless seeing how many smiles were directed at her, something that never happened before. Even when pretending to be Monica, no one really enjoyed her presence. But now, she had a whole class of people who wanted to know her.

First it was her blushing on the way over here, and now she found herself wiping away the tears that were beginning to form. If she had any doubts about her allegiance before, they were quickly washed away after seeing all this that was meant for her.

"T-Thank you… I-I have no words…" she choked out, barely able to speak.

Dimitri's eyes widened as he was not expecting the cocky assassin to be reduced to this. What shocked him more was Flayn rushing forward to grasp Kronya's hands.

"Please do not cry! Your days of sadness are over now, as now you have us to care for you," she said in her usual, sophisticated tone.

Out of everyone there, Kronya was the most surprised, considering that she was part of the plan to kidnap the green-haired girl. Her shocked look contrasted sharply with Flayn's bright smile.

Mercedes stepped forward next and wrapped her arm around Kronya's shoulder. "We both remember when professor pulled you out of that spell. You didn't seem evil then, and I don't think you're evil now."

It was now Felix's turn to step forward and say, "I don't know about their claims, but I know when a fighter is different. You don't have the same confidence as before, but that's good for the rest of us." With his usual indifference, he then stepped back. Dimitri had a small smile seeing his old friend attempt to give a compliment.

Sylvian spoke up from the back, not wanting to be visible. "If the professor will vogue for you then I'll accept that. But trust is hard to come by, especially after your first betrayal."

Mercedes clenched Kronya's shoulder, reminding her that other people felt differently.

"For once, I agree with Sylvain. Trust is hard to come by, especially after it's been tested," Ingrid said next. However, Dedue was the one to look down, knowing that she was still thinking about the Duscur Incident.

Realizing there was an awkward silence, Annette spoke up now. "Well I think it'll be nice to have a new student. We're all working to improve ourselves, so I'll welcome you aboard!" She finished it with her usual, cheery smile. It seemed to brighten the mood, which made Ashe finally speak up.

"I know what it's like to have a bad past, so I'm glad that you're trying to make something of your life now," he said with a smile as well.

After hearing everyone speak – minus Dedue who nodded along with Dimitri – the guest of honor spoke. "I know everyone here has a reason to hate me, so I'm going to do my best to prove myself."

Everyone nodded hearing that, including Ingrid and Sylvain.

**-o-O-o-o-O-o-o-O-o-**

After everyone said what they wanted to say, they all introduced themselves again. Some actually met her when she was Monica, but many were glad to have this conversation again. Once these were out of the way, the classroom started emptying out until it was just Byleth, Kronya, Mercedes, Dimitri, and Dedue. Some had places to be, while some just wanted to enjoy their day without class. Flayn was going to stay, but a surprise visit from Seteth forced her to leave. They could all feel their conversations ending while the sun was beginning to dip past the horizon.

It was Byleth who spoke first. "No one said anything about this, but I'm sure you all noticed our newest classmate isn't in an academy uniform." He tried to be discreet, but Mercedes chuckled in response.

"I did notice she had a new jacket. What a wonderful professor you are," she said in a tone that was either complimentary or teasing.

Her professor slightly groaned hearing this but smiled as well. Kronya had actually forgotten she was still wearing her professor's jacket. When she went to return it, Byleth waved her away.

"I have plenty, just keep it for now," he told while still averting his eyes. Shrugging, she slipped it back on, with Mercedes being the only one to see her small smile.

The older girl spoke up again. "I'm assuming you want me to get her a uniform. I'd be happy to!" she exclaimed while grabbing the gray girl's hand. Kronya was not expecting this level of contact from her new classmates, but enjoyed it nonetheless.

Looking at her professor, Kronya asked, "Where will I be staying at now?"

Byleth had an uncharacteristically sheepish look on his face now. "Well actually, there aren't enough rooms for a surprise new student, so you'll be staying with Mercedes." He then turned to look at the girl he just volunteered. "I hope you're fine with that."

"Of course I'm fine with it professor! It will be like a sleepover every night," she replied with her composed smile.

Byleth nodded in return and gave Kronya a reassuring squeeze to her shoulder. With all that out of the way, he left his students to return to his office.

The four of them stood there in relative silence before it was Dimitri's turn to talk. Facing her, he said, "I did not want to say this in front of everyone but you should know us three and Flayn are all completely in favor of your rehabilitation."

She noticed the look that was falling over his face. It was the same one that he had after he thought Solon had killed Byleth. The prince continued, "If there are any threats, any remarks, or anything at all that makes you feel unsafe, you can speak to any of us. We'll ensure no harm comes to our new friend."

While he never descended into his crazed speaking, Kronya could see the hardness to his voice. Dimitri took a deep breath and then smiled once more. "Do not worry about speaking to Dedue either, his heart is the biggest one in all of Fodlan."

"You honor me with your words my lord." This was the first time Kronya heard him speak, and she was not surprised to hear the booming voice coming from the mountain of a man in front of her. She was surprised by how emotional he sounded though, and maybe that talk of a big heart was the truth.

Once they said what they needed to say, the two boys left their female companions, which left Mercedes and Kronya alone. They didn't say much, but didn't need to. It was nice to relax and look at the sunset after such a busy day.

The blonde finally broke the silence. "Come on now, let's go visit that Bernadetta girl, I recall her liking to sew, and everyone likes to add some personality to their uniforms.

With that, they both left the Blue Lions classroom, knowing that it would be having a new occupant from now on.

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**After months of slumbering I finally return! And by slumbering, I mean working and grad school… still though, it feels good to write this after seeing the Kronya fanfics starting to popup just a tiny bit more. As always, I appreciate the follows and favorites; and reading your reviews always makes me smile. I hope life opens up and allows me to write for once. But until then, I'll see you next time! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello again everyone! Well, just like everybody else, coronavirus has me stuck indoors. Unfortunately, my professors simply moved all my work online instead of just cancelling everything and letting me roam free. This has given me some time to replay Blue Lions and I gotta say, it's definitely my favorite by far. Well, enough of me, back to the story!**

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**Chapter Six: Daily Life at Garreg Mach**

In Shambhala, there is no sunlight. The lights that pulsed on the ground and through the buildings would change color according to what it looked like on the outside world, but only a select few were ever given the honor of seeing what natural light looked like. The first time Kronya was brought to the surface she was still a young initiate, and reveled in doing her job. Solon had instructed her to kill a small bandit camp, explaining that he needed to test her combat skills without getting any knights involved. She didn't even listen to the end of his sentence though, as she sped forward, darting from tree branch to tree branch before coming crashing down on one unsuspecting bandit and plunging her steel dagger into his neck. The rest of them tried to fight back but were no match. When it was all done, Kronya had cleared the group out in 18 seconds. For her displayed skills, she was rewarded Athame, to which she carried with her for all further missions.

What this meant now is that she was developing insomnia. Her jail cell was similar to sleeping in the dark of her old home, but now she had the sun and moon to remind her of what time it was. The first few days she tried doing everything Mercedes told her to do. She had tea, she exercised, and even tried some medication from Manuela. There was an almost disastrous moment where Mercedes's hand glowed as she offered a magical solution to her sleeping problem. However, in that moment all Kronya saw was the glowing hand of Solon about to tear into her chest. Thankfully, Mercedes realized what was happening and told her that she wouldn't try it again. She also told her that Dimitri has the same problem, and maybe to talk to him about it.

So here she was, moon high in the sky, waiting in the library for her class leader to arrive. Both Byleth and Dedue told her that he was frequenting the library at night, although Dedue was more hesitant to revel his lord's location to a former enemy. Growing slightly bored, she laid down on a table, glad to have the freedom to do something disobedient, even if no one was around to witness it.

Or so she thought, as she heard a laugh coming from the doorway, and it wasn't Dimitri. Flipping onto her feet, she quickly turned to see the trademark smirk of the Golden Deer leader.

"Well now, I didn't know we were trashing the place. Mind if I join?" Claude asked without waiting for a response. He pulled up a chair next to her, but sat on the back of it and put his feet on the cushioned section.

"What are you doing her Lorenz?" she responded in a half-joking, half-annoyed manner. She figured trading barbs with him wouldn't hurt her reputation too much.

However, he didn't take the bait. "Lorenz? I think you should've spent your spying time better if you confused me for him."

"It's not like I could do anything about that. My spying time was just me being put in position for the next attack."

"Indeed it was, but there's something that's been bothering me…" he began while getting out of the chair and slowly pacing around her. "The attack at the chapel and in the sealed forest, that was just you and your Agarthan buddies, right?"

She almost got in his face over that last remark. "They are _not_ my buddies! Surely a smart guy like you would know they tried to kill me?!" She knew she should stay level-headed when dealing with this trickster, but he was just pushing her buttons.

He held up his hands in mock surrender, but his eyes showed he didn't mean it. "Alright, alright, I get it. But still, those two plots were from your team…" Suddenly, the air in the library went cold as Claude looked at her with a deadly serious look, one that she had never seen in their limited interactions over the weeks.

"What does this have to do with Edelgard?"

The mention of that name made her want to flee as fast as she can or jump out the window or bash his head in with a nearby book or chair – anything to escape that dreaded question. Byleth, Dimitri and the other Blue Lions had been generous enough to not question that suspicious friendship they shared, but Claude was a different story. She saw him probing her classmates, and now he was after the main prize.

"W-What do you mean?" she said, playing dumb even though it wasn't going to work.

He wasn't deterred. "C'mon Kronya, I've heard people dumber than me make that connection, and I am not a dumb person." He was back to smirking, but there was no playfulness in his eyes. Instead, he looked predatory, like a cat catching the canary.

"That's easy. Edelgard and Monica were best friends, s-so that's why we were talking."

Claude kept on smiling, but only because he knew she was digging the hole deeper for herself. "That makes sense, but Edelgard didn't seem that excited to be reunited with Monica, and I don't recall you two ever catching up on what happened while Monica was missing.

"She didn't bring it up so I didn't bother with that. She actually made it easy to keep up my act."

"Because she never asked the hard questions, like I'm doing right now." he said before finally sitting back down on top of the table opposite of hers. "However, I know Edelgard better than you do; and I know she wouldn't drop the subject of Monica's sudden personality change."

Kronya opened her mouth but words weren't coming out. Even though she was a spy, she was terrible at lying. She viewed her stunt as being an actress merely playing a role. But now, she was unable to do anything other than stare at Claude. Her wide and fearful red eyes contrasting against his calm green ones.

Letting out a shaky sigh, she asked, "What do you want to know?"

The only reaction he gave was a slight sparkle in his eye when he realized that he had won. However, that when away quickly as he responded, "I just want to know if someone will show up at my doorstep disguised as a long-lost friend."

Kronya's mind was whirling as she saw an escape. "No, no, the Agarthans aren't planning on trying to convert you or Dimitri."

Claude raised an eyebrow as he was now curious. Seeing this, she went on, "They thought about it at first, but realized the Leicester Alliance doesn't have the unified military power that the Adrestian Empire has."

"Hey now, I'm sure the Duke could get everyone to agree if the threat was big enough. But there are some families too devout to go against the church." Her guest let out a genuine laugh for once, which surprised the orange-haired girl.

"Well the Alliance isn't as devout as the Kingdom either, so that's also why you were a backup plan."

"So your higher-ups had you pretend to be the imperial princess's old friend in order to convert her for their scheme to take down the Church of Seiros. Well that certainly is interesting…" he mumbled to her and to himself.

Kronya tried her very best to control her shaking body. She couldn't give away that everything was a lie, although a well-thought out one. Claude seemed to grow less interested in her as he stroked his chin and muttered a few more things to himself. He also seemed pleased, having gained some information that he wouldn't have gotten from anyone else.

He began to walk to the doorway before stopping and spinning around. "I have one last question for you and then I promise to let you go. Why keep all this secret? You were used and thrown away by bastards that don't care about you. Why not say what really happened?"

She snapped back to attention as she looked for another lie to tell. Claude made a good point on why she wouldn't tell everyone that she was part of a much bigger plan, although many probably thought Solon's death meant there was no more threat.

Quick on her feet, she blurted out the first thing that came to mind, "Hubert," she said, remembering when she was Monica.

"Hubert?" he said back. He figured Edelgard's shadow would be involved with anything that the princess was also involved with.

"Yeah, you know what House Vestra does to anyone that even disrespects the royal lineage. If I went public then I'd have an even bigger target on my back."

Claude mulled it over. It sounded believable, knowing how dedicated Hubert was to keeping Edelgard's image pure. If she was found out to have been fooled by a shadowy group then the other lords in the Empire might lose their faith in her and abolish the monarchy completely.

"Yeah, that makes sense. I even heard he threatened your professor!" he said with a laugh that almost sounded genuine.

Kronya remembered her night in the jail cell where Hubert did come to threaten her, and went for the total finisher. "That's why I've stayed far away from both of them. I-I didn't have my life saved just to get a knife from him in the dark. So please, please do not tell anyone about this conversation we had."

His face softened as he walked back towards her. She didn't expect a reassuring hand to be place on her shoulder as he looked directly into her eyes.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I might be the most curious creature in Fodlan and beyond, but I also know what it's like to carry a life-endangering secret." He turned away as he looked like he was lost in thought, only for that to quickly disappear and turn back towards her.

He patted her shoulder and began walking out, only to turn around once again and call out to her. "Oh by the way, if someone did come up to me and pretend to be a long-lost friend, I only hope they looked as good as you." With a wink and a smile, he finally left her – speechless and blushing.

**-o-O-o-o-O-o-o-O-o-**

Dimitri never ended up coming that night, which meant she was free to walk around the monastery. It was a strange feeling, knowing she was probably the only being awake right now; and it was also extremely liberating. No guards to scare her, no students to judge her, just her able to be herself in her new home. However, staying up this late made her hungry, so she stopped by the cafeteria.

Some may have found the dark and empty building scary, but this was the environment she thrived in. Kronya knew that the food was locked away every night, but locks were simply a game to her at this point. Her handcuffs, her door, any other door in the monastery, all of them were no match for this assassin. However, those locks were no match for someone else, as she heard someone loudly eating something behind the counter. Silently moving forward, she saw the familiar purple hair of Bernadetta. She wasn't able to talk to her as Monica, so this would be a nice time for introductions.

Clearing her throat, she said, "Hello, I'm-"

"AHHHHHHHH!" was the deafening response that Kronya received.

Then, even faster than Kronya's eyes could track, Bernadetta was out of the cafeteria and the distinct sound of a room door loudly locking could be heard.

"Huh, I guess Felix was right." she said to herself.

Shrugging her shoulders, she looked over the counter to see a pile of sweets arranged on a small platter. She didn't see any from the stock used, so that scared girl must have made these herself. Gingerly reaching down, she sampled a simple sugar cookie. It was better than she could have even prepared for. Kronya might not have been used to sweets or treats or even good food, but even she knew that this was high-quality cooking. She eagerly tried the other ones before cleaning up the mess they both made. Finally content, she made sure there wasn't any trace either of them were there. Reverse lock-picking is unique skill, and that didn't seem like the first time Bernadetta had to do it.

Kronya made her way over to the other girl's door, hearing mumbles coming from the other side. A small chuckle came out as she grabbed a pen and paper. Writing something down, she slid it under the door.

_Don't worry I cleaned up the mess. No one knows we were there._

Hearing the initial squeal followed by shaky footsteps, Kronya saw the paper slide back to her.

_Thank you, helpful ghost._

Deciding now would be the best time to talk, she said simply, "Bernadetta, I'm not a ghost."

There was a gasp followed by, "K-K-Kronya?! Is it you? No, no, no, no you ARE a ghost! You had your heart ripped out and now you're here to get revenge on all of us!"

That one stung. The gray girl responded, "I don't think that was my heart, or maybe I'm a different kind of human, but I can tell you than I'm definitely alive. Somehow…"

"Ok, so you're alive, but you're still here for revenge!"

"I've been a student for weeks now! How long have you been in your room?" she exasperatedly replied.

"Ummm, ever since Byleth got new hair…"

"Did… did you not even know I was here?"

There was a long silence followed by, "no."

"Alright, well I'm alive, a student in Blue Lions, and I only want revenge on the people that tried to kill me."

"We tried to kill you…"

"The _other _people that tried to kill me. The first group saved my life."

"Ohhh, I get it now. Sorry for the confusion then!"

"I'm gonna go now, ok? See ya sometime, maybe. Nice lock-picking skills too."

Kronya let out a long sigh as tried to get passed that conversation. After everything that has happened tonight, she finally felt exhausted enough to sleep. Marching back to her shared room with Mercedes, she quietly snuck in and promptly passed out, still wearing her uniform.

**-o-O-o-o-O-o-o-O-o-**

It had been over a week since that night occurred, even though only three people even knew about it – and one of them wasn't much for conversation. Today was the last Sunday before the mission given by Rhea, and Byleth was going to get some last-minute checkups done. Getting dressed, he left his room and proceeded to almost run-over Ingrid, who was standing in front of his door.

Not expecting the close contact, she stammered, "O-Oh professor! I was hoping to talk to you about something."

"Of course Ingrid, want to follow me for breakfast?"

She immediately smiled at the promise of food. "Absolutely!"

The walk there was short, but they managed to fill the air talking about her training. Much like his other students, she was excelling, and was almost qualified to become a falcon knight. This didn't surprise Byleth though, since she was always this focused on achieving her goal. However, he did notice her lack of enthusiasm when she had to do the requisite sword training. Then the realization hit him, and most likely what she wanted to talk about.

They both gathered their hearty meals and sat down. A comfortable silence was in the air as they both enjoyed the food. Once she ate at least half, a feat just as impressive as her abilities, she began, "I'll admit that our newest student has stayed clean. But I still worry about what her true motives could be."

Byleth knew this conversation was bound to happen again. Sylvain had mostly come around to his new classmate, but Ingrid was slower to change. He did notice that she her and Dedue's relationship had improved, which was to everyone's delight.

"I figured you would be bringing this up again. Whenever we're doing sword training you seem so preoccupied staying as far away from her as possible."

"That is correct," she plainly stated, although with a tinge of shame. "I just cannot seem to get past what happened, or come to terms with everyone else's acceptance."

Byleth thought about what she said as he chewed his food. Swallowing, he replied, "I'll let you know that everyone has not come to terms with it, including myself."

Ingrid's fork clanged against her plate as she realized she had dropped it from surprise. "I-I wasn't expecting you to say that. I thought since you were the one advocating for her then…"

She didn't know how to finish the sentence and her professor ended it for her. "Yes, you are correct. I am the one who wants to see her live, but that doesn't mean I've forgiven her."

The Pegasus knight listened closely as she kept on eating, even though she was scarcely thinking about food now.

"You must know by now that I was the Ashen Demon, but that's not a legacy I want to keep. I could cut down anyone and not have it weigh on my mind, looking back it was a curse."

Byleth looked away for a second as he told her this. Truthfully, the Ashen Demon feels like a completely separate entity nowadays. He can hardly believe that used to be him, unable to feel any emotions at all.

Looking back to her, he continued, "Because she hurt me the most, that means how I treat her is going to set the example. By treating her well I take away the excuses that others might have to treat her poorly."

"That's very wise of you professor, and also quite merciful. I shudder to think at what His Highness would do if he captured someone responsible for Duscur."

"True, and hopefully my message reaches his mind as well," he said back.

They were both glad to have gotten through this somewhat awkward conversation, and continued eating before being interrupted by Felix sitting down next to them.

"I could hear your conversation from the front counter. Are you _still _doubting our new classmate?" he asked his blonde friend.

"I believe it to be wise to have some doubt, especially since she was a former enemy."

"You said the same thing about the boar prince's lapdog when he showed up here as well. Now you two are doing missions together."

Byleth should have reprimanded Felix for referring to Dedue like that, but he knew it was only because of the animosity between the swordsman and the prince. Ingrid opened her mouth to protest but she realized that he was right. Everything she said about Kronya was something she said about Dedue at one point.

Instead, she simply grumbled to herself but didn't seem to hold it against him. Felix gave a self-satisfied smirk before beginning to eat. No one said anything until all the food was gone. Ingrid thanked her professor for the meal and went to leave before a hand pulled her back.

Byleth said, "It's ok to still be distrustful, and I'm glad that you are looking out for me. Just remember that she won't change if we don't change, alright?"

She nodded back at him, noticeably more content than she was before the meal. Felix then turned to the professor and asked, "Care to spar with me? It's the best way to work off a meal." Byleth agreed with a smile as they both went to the training grounds.

**-o-O-o-o-O-o-o-O-o-**

It was while they were on the way to the training grounds where they noticed a large number of students gathered in a circle. They looked at each other curiously before going in to investigate. They had similar reactions to the sight in front of them, both being shocked, but also unsurprised.

Kronya was moving around the circle, trying to dodge the fists from her attacker. Unfortunately, not all of her dodges worked, and some of that familiar dark blue blood staining the white tiles. Opposite of her was another orange-haired girl, but her face was contorted into so much rage and hatred that she was barely recognizable.

Leonie's gritted teeth made her look like an animal as she continued to swing at the object of all her anger. When she learned that Byleth saved the life of Kronya, it took both Claude and Raphael to hold her back. Instead, she destroyed five training dummies all the way down to the straw. Although that happened weeks ago, the pain never went away. She would make sure to never be in the same place as either of those two, but today she caught a glimpse of Kronya and then could only see red.

Byleth nodded to Felix and then rushed in, breaking up the two. Felix, meanwhile, ordered everyone to leave the area. He didn't even have to raise his voice either. One look from the deadly swordmaster was enough to send everyone fleeing. Once it was just the four of them, Byleth told Leonie to leave as well.

"No," she said through her teeth as her fists tightened by her sides.

"Leonie, I know you're still angry but you don't want to do this."

"Oh this is exactly what I want to do, Byleth." She practically spat as she said his name, something no other student had done.

He was about to say something when Kronya's voice from behind cut him off. "She's right professor, let her have this."

The green-haired man stood there stunned. She actually just requested to continue taking a beating.

"You know I cannot allow this," he put plainly.

However, she didn't seem to care. "I need to pay for what I did, just one brawl and then we can put it behind us, yeah?" she said while looking over to Leonie, who had calmed down slightly.

The huntress only nodded, and when Byleth turned to Felix, he did the same thing. Breathing out his nose, He took all four into the training grounds.

First he requested that everyone leave, making up some excuse that he can't even remember. Although some bought it, others must have realized that Leonie and Kronya together could only mean one thing. Once everyone cleared out, he laid out the rules.

"The fight ends when I say it ends. The second I step in, anyone who continues fighting will be sent straight to the archbishop, do I make myself clear?" Despite her rage, Leonie could hear how serious he was with that threat. Both orange-haired girls agreed and the fight picked right back up.

Leonie came out hard and fast, each blow difficult to dodge. Kronya was sure than anyone else would have been pummeled in those few seconds. If not for her assassin training, there was no way she would be able to do as well as she was doing right now. However, she also knew that she was not doing well. She lacked the raw strength that her opponent had. Since she was more of a weapon user, she neglected her hand-to-hand skills. Also, she lacked a reason to fight back. She was in the wrong here. Her direct actions caused the death of one person's father and another person's mentor. In the back of her mind, she knew she deserved this.

For Leonie, this was everything she ever wanted – revenge on Kronya. Every time her fist connected with the other girl's body she felt her scowl turn into a dark smile. It felt good to see her in pain, and she hoped this was the same pain she felt when Solon also had his hands on her. Although the gray girl was good at dodging, all of her counterattacks were easily shrugged off; and as the fight drew on longer and she became more sluggish, Leonie found more and more of her punches landing.

Despite the raw emotion coming off of the fighters, Felix found himself bored. Not really caring for personal vendettas, he spent the entire time watching how each fighter moved and what he would have done differently. Still though, he wasn't going to let his classmate get killed, especially while he still needed another sword user to spar against.

Everyone could feel the fight was coming to close. Kronya hadn't landed a significant strike for some time while Leonie was still raring to go. It took one miscalculation for the Agarthan for her opponent to find an opening. In one savage blow, Leonie crunched Kronya's nose and sent her sprawling to the ground.

Byleth was about to leap in but Felix held his arm out. Both watching her, Leonie leaned over the fallen girl and said, "For Jeralt."

With that, she took her leave, with a noticeably better attitude. Once the doors opened and closed, they both walked over to her and got her up. She was covered in cuts and bruises, while her nose was off-center. Despite all this, she was smiling too, "I think she'll feel better now…" she mumbled out while being picked up.

Byleth only gave her a small smile as all three of them went towards the infirmary. Thankfully, Manuela wasn't hungover and was able to get the fighter fixed up, but recommended that she stay there for the next couple of hours. Although she did shriek seeing blue blood come out of her nose, she was able to get that reset back to normal as well.

While walking out, both of the men were distinctively not in the mood for sparring anymore. Felix simply stated that he would find some other time to train and Byleth had no issue with that. As he wandered around the campus he noticed that some students already had their eyes on him and whispered to each other. Surely news of the fight had already begun to spread around, and soon all of Garreg Mach would know about what happened. Groaning to himself, he decided to go somewhere no one would look until this all had blown over.

**-o-O-o-o-O-o-o-O-o-**

He never had spent much time in his student's rooms before, most likely because Seteth warned him about 'improper behavior' not being tolerated. Still though, it was nice to be somewhere that he wouldn't be disturbed. The student he was with however, was a different story. Even though Bernadetta invited him into her room before, she never expected it to happen again. She was grateful for this opportunity, since it meant she didn't scare him away. Unfortunately, now that he was here, she was panicking over not knowing what to say.

"S-So, you're sure you're fine with this?"

"For the third time, yes, I am alright with this," he lazily said back as he sat in the chair normally reserved for her armored bear stuffy. Said bear was currently being snuggled to death in between the arms of the skittish girl herself.

"I'm sorry about what happened. I don't know what she was thinking! If I were in a fight I'd run away as fast as I can!"

"I think it was her idea to get beaten up. She said something about making Leonie feel better."

"Maybe Kronya is a masochist?" the purple-haired girl said quickly, then spent the next few minutes sputtering out apologies.

Byleth couldn't contain his laughter as he was caught completely off-guard from what she said. Her desperate attempts to make sure he wasn't upset only added to the moment.

Once they both had calmed down, he asked with a smile, "How do you even know what that means?"

She instantly reddened as she buried her head in the top of the bear. Byleth could hear her answering, but it was completely muffled. Deciding not to push her any further, he simply leaned back and closed his eyes.

Despite everything that happened today, he still felt good about the mission coming up. He would need to talk to Dimitri about his headaches though, but that could wait for another day. The last thing he heard before falling asleep was Bernadetta anxiously stuttering about being caught with her professor.

* * *

**And there we have it! I managed to make this one longer than usual simply because I didn't want to end the conversation between Kronya and Claude. I hope you all enjoyed the other parts, and I'm glad I was able to fit in some other students. Just so you all know – no, I do not hate Leonie. Honestly, it felt good writing the fight scene because I didn't want anyone to think I was letting Kronya get away with literal murder. She'll still need to redeem herself, and she'll have plenty of time to do that in the future. As always, I look forward to seeing your reviews, and I'll see you all next time! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Sooo, it's been a while… Yeah I have no words other than the world around us is making it hard to focus on my passions. Thankfully, I joined a very nice Fire Emblem Discord server that helped me regain my interest in writing. It's been a long time coming, and now we're finally at the Holy Tomb!**

* * *

**Chapter Seven: Secret Identity reveals Secret Identity**

The Blue Lions collectively huddled around their professor as they rode the mysterious contraption that took them into the depths of Garreg Mach. They did not know what to expect as they ventured with Rhea into the Holy Tomb, all except for Flayn. She kept this mysterious smile on her face the entire time, occasionally glancing over to Byleth and marvel at his new green hair and eyes. Despite her ever-present calm exterior, even the students could tell that the archbishop was eagerly awaiting something.

Finally breaking the awkward silence, Kronya spoke up. "So how I'm here?" she sheepishly asked while looking at her still-new academy shoes.

"My child, I told you that you were in the finest hands in all of Fodlan; and it seems as though I was correct. You deserve to be with your classmates and allies in this historic moment." Rhea said calmly. She never expected that an Agarthan would be peacefully visiting this sacred place, but so many things she did not expect to happen have already transpired.

The orange-haired assassin looked away, now feeling bashful. "Bah, all this mushiness will make me sick…" she said unconvincingly. Her old sense of sarcasm was coming back, but still hidden underneath a mountain of insecurity.

Mercedes and Annette both stepped up behind her, with the other orange-haired girl saying, "Oh c'mon, we know you want to be here!"

"Yeah, you're right about that. I-I'd rather be around you all than some of the other students…" she said ominously, thinking that if she was alone right now Hubert would have followed through on his promise.

Mercedes was concerned, "There hasn't been anyone giving you any trouble, right?"

Dimitri was suddenly in front of Kronya with an intensity in his eyes that didn't match his calm voice. "Remember what I said, any threats to you I- _we'll_ deal with, understood?"

"Y-Yeah, I remember what you said. Thank you all again."

Byleth approached Dimitri and placed a hand on his shoulder, to which the prince let out a deep breath and relaxed once more.

"Relax boar prince, I know you're just fishing for an excuse to attack someone anyways," a curt voice cut in.

Ingrid went to defend her old friend, "Felix! That's no way to…"

"He's broken over half of our lances because he's not keeping his crest in check!"

Dimitri responded in the sad voice he always seemed to have when addressing Felix, "I'm sorry for all the trouble I have been causing, I've just been under a lot of stress since Remire village…"

"And what are you going to do about that?!" The dark-haired swordsman replied, now in the prince's face. "Whenever you're stressed you just bottle it up and let it eat at you!"

"Felix that's enough," Byleth said, grabbing the boy's shoulder to pull him away. Felix didn't resist but kept a hard glare at Dimitri, to which the other boy only sighed.

Although there was a brief awkward silence, Sylvain chimed in, "Well that fight didn't last as long as it usually does."

There was a scattering of laughter throughout the students as they realized that their professor was the one to make those two not be at each other's throats constantly.

A dramatic clacking of heels and a hand on his shoulder made Dimitri turn around to see Rhea standing behind him. He had been so wrapped up in his own head he forgot entirely about the archbishop.

"L-Lady Rhea! I'm so sorry about my earlier outburst-" he began before being cut off by her.

"You're emotions are natural my child. I have also seen much suffering and was foolish enough to not rely on my friends…" she briefly glanced to Flayn, who had a sad expression on her face.

She continued, "Your friends here care about you, so do not allow yourself to fight these demons alone."

Dimitri stood there taking in her words. "Yes Archbishop, thank you…" he quietly said before turning back to Felix. The two simply nodded at each other but there was a much warmer air around the entire class now.

This was all shaken when the platform they were on suddenly stopped. The doors opened and Rhea stepped forward, guiding them through the bright green area. The students all gasped at how massive this place was, not expecting somewhere like this to exist underneath the academy. They all kept following her until they climbed a long set of stairs, finally ending with a small platform that sat in front of a stone throne.

"Are you surprised professor? This is the Holy Tomb?" Rhea began. "This is where the goddess that created this world was laid to rest, along with her children."

She then guided him closer to the intimidated chair. "It is said that our creator – the goddess Sothis – sat upon this very throne. Professor, do you recognize this throne?"

He was nodding before she was even finished with her sentence. He felt his non-beating heart lurch seeing this familiar place but without his impish partner here.

"So long, I have waited so very long for this day…" she said to herself but out loud as well. Behind her, a gasp was let out by Flayn, who was beginning to realize Byleth seemed so familiar to her.

"Sit upon the throne. I have no doubt that you will be gifted a revelation from the goddess."

Byleth did as instructed, silently hoping to himself that he would hear her voice again. However, after sitting and waiting for a few minutes, nothing was occurring. Turning to Rhea, she said, "Well? It was supposed to be but a step away… what could possibly be missing?"

While they were both lost in thought, the sound of heavy footsteps and shouting of Dimitri snapped them back to their senses. "Halt! Reveal yourselves!"

A slithery man called back in response. "Don't move, any of you! If you move then your lives will be forfeit!"

The Blue Lions grimaced as they grouped up. The man continued, "Thank you ever so much for guiding us this far. The Imperial Army will now take possession of everything in the Holy Tomb!"

Dedue was preparing to speak when he heard a noise. Looking over his shoulder he saw Kronya wrapping her arms around herself while muttering incomprehensibly. Ashe went over to her to put an arm around her and say, "Hey, hey, I know this is scary but we need to stick together."

She looked back to him, wide-eyed and almost crazed with fear. "No, no, no, you don't get it!" Despite her pale skin Ashe could see the whites of her knuckles from how hard she was gripping her silver sword's handle. She erratically got to her feet, looking straight at the figure standing in imposing armor.

"Is the invasion happening now?! Tell me Edelgard!"

_Edelgard_. That word hung around everyone like a choking fog. There were a few gasps, but most people stayed stone-still. The seconds passed by like hours as the Flame Emperor stood there. Without any hesitation, the individual reached up to remove their helmet. Everyone now saw that Kronya spoke the truth, as Edelgard was standing right before them.

She turned towards her old teammate, leveling a hard glare at her. "You were never meant to live to see this day, but you are correct." Then gesturing to her army, she shouted, "Take anything you can grab! The more we do now the more assured our victory shall be!"

However, as she was speaking there was another noise echoing throughout the stone halls of the Holy Tomb. Dimitri was hunched over, seemingly sobbing to himself. Once he raised his head though, his classmates realized that instead he was in a fit of insane laughter, unable to handle the truth.

"Is this some kind of twisted joke?!" he seethed. Readying his lance. She kept her face emotionless, only watching to see what his next move would be.

He charge didn't stop. "I've been looking for you…" he said lowly before picking back up again. "I will take that head from your shoulders, and hang it from the gates of Enbarr!"

Dimitri began his wild charge, shrugging off began his wild charge, however he was stopped by Byleth, Dedue, Felix, and Sylvain holding him back.

"You charge in and you'll get surrounded!" Sylvain shouted, hoping to speak some sense into his friend.

"Hey boar prince! If you want to get your revenge then use your brain to get it!" Felix yelled over the redhead, realizing that Dimitri really was slipping back to his other state.

Their words seemed to work as Dimitri took a deep breath, but the bloodlust hadn't left his face. "We'll kill her, but we'll do it together," he said with finality.

The rest of his classmates nodded as they all assumed their fighting positions. Ashe had to help Kronya stand tall but she was starting to get back into the swing of it. In all actuality, this was the first time she was in combat since the battle in the Sealed Forest. Although she was still in form from training, this was real violence that was about to occur.

The class split into two groups, with the left and right groups charging forward to hopefully trap Edelgard in the middle. Dimitri still led the charge with his group, and his classmates tried their best to just stay out of his rampage. Both teams made it to the stairs, where they then split into two more groups. One defending the stairs and preventing the soldiers to get away with the crest stones; and the other group to press the charge forward.

Kronya and Flayn were fighting back against those stealing the crest stones – their pockets clacking loudly with every step. Flayn had an uncharacteristically hard edge to her, not talking or expressing any emotion except anger as she cast her black magic. However, she did not notice a stray warrior with a steel axe coming from behind her. A sickening noise was made as metal tore through flesh and the green-haired girl let out a yelp of pain before crumbling to the floor. The sound made Kronya turn her head, and the sight of her friend – the one who was so eager to make her feel welcomed – lying in a growing pool of blood, made Kronya snap as well.

"You filthy vermin!" she screamed as she summoned every last bit of movement training for this very moment. Going into a full sprint she suddenly jumped and performed a mid-air roll, ending it with a kick directly at the man's stomach. He fell to his knees at which she then swung her other leg high in the air, catching him by the jaw as he then fell on his back to the stone floor.

"I forgot how good this felt~" she said while trying, and failing, to suppress a shudder of pleasure that went down her spine. Slowly moving over and then straddling the dazed solider, she raised her sword up high, then brought it down hard, lodging it into his skull. With that, the person who harmed her friend was no more.

Standing up, Kronya looked to her latest victim and said, "One less lowly beast in the world." Suddenly she was shaking her head aggressively, pushing off that haze of bloodlust and remembering where she was. Eyeing Flayn on the floor, she rushed over to be by her side, holding the smaller girl close.

"Kron…ya…?" she meekly asked. She sounded so tired and the assassin was terrified of what might be about to happen.

"Shh, shh, shh, don't talk, you need your energy," Kronya replied, trying not let the worry leave her voice.

"To think that… one of your people… would try to protect… one of ours. It makes me… happy…"

_The blood loss must be getting to her_, Kronya thought. "Please Flayn don't talk, you're not making any sense. Just hold on! Someone will be here soon!"

Looking around, she saw that Mercedes was far away, but still within range. She screamed that Flayn needed help, to which the older girl was able to cast a life-saving physic. Kronya could feel the wounds closing up, remembering how she was in a similar position only a month ago.

However, her scream also attracted Dimitri's gaze; and if he was furious before, he was a demon now. Entire squads were reduced to corpses in seconds as he wildly charged forward, only to be stopped by Metodey. Although Dimitri was cracking the floor with every missed swing of the lance, he was soon breathing hard and unable to focus. The poison from the venin edge working its way through his body. Dedue quickly caught up though, using his hand axe to deflect the sword going straight towards his liege.

The scream also attracted the attention of a few remaining soldiers that hadn't yet made it to the stairs. Kronya gently set Flayn down on the ground as she stood back up. "I'm glad my friend is asleep, she'd hate to see what I'm about to do to you~" she gleefully said in her old, singsong voice.

**-o-O-o-o-O-o-o-O-o-**

Byleth continued his march to where Edelgard was. Only a handful of crest stones were able to slip past her while she covered their retreat. Dimitri was breathing hard, almost doubled over trying to bring air into his lungs. Mercedes was by his side, keeping him stable. The poison was still affecting him severely, leaving his friends having to push the assault. Dedue and Sylvain were fighting hard against Metodey, who was no on the defensive. On the other side, Felix and Annette where fighting against Hubert – always by his lady's side. The miasma hurt but Byleth was using his own faith magic to help his students.

"I always hoped you would see Lady Edelgard's path, she had such high hopes for you," he said bitterly to the professor.

Nobody realized just how powerful the dark mage was until now, as he was able to take on three other fighters at once. However, a wind spell from Annette created an opening that Felix used to make a devastating slash on his former classmate.

"Hngh, I guess that's all from me for today…" he said with a humorless chuckle before teleporting away.

Byleth told them to stand back since they were injured, and let the others come forward for the last fight. He surveyed the battlefield, grimacing at the carnage that had unfurled. Flayn was stable but severely injured, with Dimitri in a similar position. Annette and Felix were steady but were far from being healthy enough to challenge someone like Edelgard. Ingrid and Ashe had stayed healthy the whole time, so they were ready to help their professor. Looking past Edelgard, he saw that Dedue and Sylvain were in a similar state to Dimitri as the poison went through their veins. However, the combined fighting was wearing Metodey down and he found himself turning to retreat as well. He only made it a few steps forwards before he felt an arm wrap around his throat, then saw the blade of a sword erupt through his stomach. Turning his head, he saw a dark glint in ruby eyes before falling to the ground. His last thought realizing that she was the assassin he was supposed to replace.

Edelgard was now alone, but hardly outmatched. Her Agarthan armor and twin crests gave her more than enough power to deal with her old interest and three of his students. Seeing that Hubert was on standby and Metodey was dead, her scowl only deepened. Readying her axe, she turned over to see her old, annoying associate.

"Hmph, you've always been a thorn in my side Monica," Edelgard said with a smirk. That old name was a reminder to Kronya about how much she hated those days.

"Shut up," she coldly replied. Although she started by looking at her feet, she raised her gaze to look at the girl she once knew.

"You know when I first met you I just wanted to be your friend. I thought that if I could be useful to you then you'd see me as more than just a tool…"

Even though Kronya was speaking lowly, the deathly silence in the Holy Tomb made her words audible to everyone. Edelgard's expression never changed, as she knew long ago that words were never going to sway her to change her path.

The Agarthan assassin then raised her sword, aiming at tip at the Flame Emperor's face. "Now I'm gonna prove to you that I never needed you in the first place."

The white-haired girl scoffed. "All you are proving is that you want to be a tool for someone else."

"I said SHUT UP!" she screeched while making her charge. Despite being limber and able to connect her sword multiple times before Edelgard could even raise her shield, the damage inflicted was minimal. With a heavy shield bash, she was able to send the assassin flying.

This distraction, however, made her unable to react quickly enough to dodge an arrow from Ashe. It lodged itself deep into her leg, impeding her movement even more than the armor did. Ingrid and Byleth both drew their respective relic weapons and circled around Edelgard. Although her axe held the advantage against Luin, the power radiating from the weapon made Edelgard become injured just from regular attacks. Byleth began his own assault, using his speed to deliver a string of quick, damaging blows that forced Edelgard to back away.

On que, Hubert appeared behind her, and they both teleported away. Once they were both gone, the remaining Blue Lions collapsed from exhaustion, but able to enjoy their victory.

**-o-O-o-o-O-o-o-O-o-**

It had been two weeks from that dramatic day, and life at Garreg Mach was now in a state of subdued chaos. The unease and uncertainty hung through the air like smog, and was just as dangerous too. Students were unsure if they should stay there and try to defend or run and get away from the future combat zone as quickly as possible. Edelgard, now the Emperor, announced that she was going to be invading Garreg Mach, and now another war was about to engulf Fodlan. As Byleth walked through the monastery, he couldn't help but notice how many eyes were on him now. Everyone that saw him looked to him for guidance, but right now he just needed to see how his students were.

Making it to the infirmary, he saw that the recovery efforts were going well. Dedue and Sylvain had the poison flushed out and were almost back to tiptop shape. The others had their wounds healed and were completely rested from exhaustion. The only ones who were still recovering were Dimitri and Flayn, which Byleth saw in their own beds as he entered the room.

Manuela said that Flayn's recovery was almost inhuman based on the wound she received, making Seteth quickly change the topic. Sitting next to her, the green-haired girl's eyes fluttered open. "Hello professor," she smiled weakly. "I'm sorry to have made you all worry so much."

Byleth reached out and gently held her hand. "Nonsense, you're one of my students. I'm so sorry that you had to endure a battlefield like that…"

"I'm just happy that I was able to help you all. We all fought together so hard, it reminds me off…" she trailed off as her eyes slowly closed, obviously still tired.

Her professor smiled as he saw her fall asleep, reaching out to pat her head and whisper sleep well to her. He then turned his attention to Dimitri, who was staring intently at nothing in particular.

"Hello Dimitri, I hope you've finally accepted that you need rest," Byleth dryly chuckled.

Dimitri could have been out the same time as his classmates, but he kept leaving his bed to go train. He would always say that he's wasting that time when he should be training, even though his training lately has been sloppy. _Edelgard, look what you've done to your brother_, he thought to himself.

After a moment, the prince responded. "If I rest then I can train properly, but once that happens I will not stop until my arms break wielding my lance," he replied grimly.

Everyone had noticed his sudden personality shift. The way he was so fixated on death, how he'd laugh to himself, and especially how he seemed to be talking to someone even when no one was in the room. Byleth didn't know how to help his house leader, and this didn't seem like an issue that could be fixed with a simple pep talk. Just like with Flayn, he reached out to reassuringly squeeze the prince's hand. For a brief flash, Byleth could see the old Dimitri wanting to come back, but a second later that hard stare returned. Sighing to himself, he excused himself from the room.

As he left the infirmary, he could hear a conversation occurring in Seteth's Office. Peaking his head around, he could see the archbishop's advisor talking to Kronya.

"Lady Rhea told me about what she saw in the Holy Tomb, how you protected Flayn so fiercely." Normally Seteth would be the first to oppose such grotesque violence, but he always made an exception when it came to Flayn.

He continued, "I cannot express my thanks to you enough… counting your professor I have made the mistake of being too critical of two people now…"

The praise coming from the same person that wanted her dead two months ago made her bashful as she gripped the sides of her skirt. "I-It was nothing really, Flayn was so excited to meet me, and she always treated me so well! Seeing her hurt, it just made me… snap…" she trailed off, remembering that haze she entered after Flayn was struck.

"Yes I remember Lady Rhea telling me that much as well. Just do remember that when you're in that state you are less likely to think critically, which can make you more susceptible to traps and such."

"I'll make sure to remember that sir! Holding her in my arms… she was saying such strange things. I was scared it was the end…"

Already having to deal with Manuela, Seteth was preparing to do damage control with the assassin as well. "I hope it was nothing inappropriate," he dryly said.

"No, no! Nothing like that! She just seemed so surprised that an Agarthan would save her. Something about how my people rescuing her people. It didn't make any sense."

There was a brief flash of shock on Seteth's face as he realized how much she said to Kronya. His mind whirling, he eventually spoke. "I understand how that could be confusing. You of all people should know that her blood is very special. Coupling that with her isolated childhood, she always thought she was different from everyone else. In her delirious state, she might have thought she wasn't even human." He hummed to himself after saying all that, thinking it sounded solid to him. Kronya seemed to process it all, but her eyes went downcast too.

"I know where she's coming from. When I was Monica it was so nice to be someone new, and to finally be human," she said this while slowly waving an arm in front of her. Using her disguising magic, the arm changed from her gray tone to a more fleshy color.

"When I'm with my friends and the professor, I forget that I'm different…"

It was here that Byleth decided to walk in. "Kronya surely you must know that we never consider you to be subhuman or alien to us. You eat with us, you laugh with us, and you fight with us. You're human as far as anyone is concerned.

"P-Professor, I…" she began before being cut off by Seteth with a small smile on his face.

"I couldn't have said it any better myself. No matter what blood runs through your veins, what matters is how you act; and you have shown through your actions that you are one of us."

"I, um, need to go now. T-Thank you all for that!" she said quickly while practically running out of the room, almost knocking over Cyril who was dusting the hallway.

The two men then looked back at each other. Byleth began, "To think this is how we would be talking to her of all people. It still shocks me."

"The events surrounding her and now Edelgard have proven to me that life still holds many surprises," Seteth replied.

Byleth chuckled in response, "You may be older than you look but don't start acting like you're ancient."

Seteth merely shook his head with a smile as he sat back down to get back to paperwork. Before he was used to dealing with student complaints, now he was managing logistics for a war.

The professor left the room and began walking towards the Blue Lions classroom. He only had a few short weeks before the invasion began. The time he had left needed to be spent helping his students prepare for war. As much as he hoped the battle of Garreg Mach would be the only one, he could feel in his gut that life was never going to be the same again.

* * *

**And there you have it! Again, I am so, so sorry for such a long delay. Life may be crazy out there but I know how much a new chapter being released can help raise someone's spirits. For the chapter itself, I tried to make Kronya have her old personality still somewhere around in her, but just angled differently. I'm hoping you all are liking her writing and hopefully I haven't forgotten about any characters you like as well. Please leave a review, reading them is always the brightest part of my day. Thank you all again and I'll see you next time! **


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